When you know better, do better. No one is born a fully actualized human being! We are all in the process of becoming who we wish to be.


16, 21



Never trust your tongue when your heart is bitter. Hush until you heal.


12, 18



They’re not rejecting you, they’re just becoming who they are. Give them some space.


12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17



Approach difficult conversations looking to learn something, not to prove something.


16, 21



Are you proud of the work you did today? Were you respectful and kind? Did you tell the truth and look out for the little ones? If so, I’m happy. I don’t care one bit about grades.


5



Sometimes procrastination is part of the process. Eventually though, doing the thing is easier than stressing over it or hiding from it.


10. 12, 15, 21



Stand up (or sit up) straight in photos. Don’t slouch or lean. (You can touch or be close but don’t lean in.)


12, 14, 21



Come and go in peace.


12, 15, 21



When you’re trying to make a positive change and you get sidetracked- don’t fret. Get right back to it as soon as possible. If you backslide into a bad habit, or blow your diet, etc. start back eating right with your next meal (not the next year/ month/week or even next day.) It’s not the falling off the wagon that hurts your progress, it’s the STAYING off the wagon. Everyone flubs-up sometimes. Don’t quit striving toward your goal because you slipped up. Get right back to it!!


14, 17, 21



Do something that feeds your soul every day. Experience or create joy, even if just a small spark of it.


17



My favorite Chinese food order is chicken Kung Pao, shrimp fried rice and beef lo mein. That way we all get a little of each meat.


16



You’ll miss me when I’m gone, but if I did my job right you won’t need me.


21



Be open to the possibility that you might be wrong.


12, 14, 17, 21



“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as remaining where you no longer belong, or where you’re unable to be yourself and thrive.” Mandy Hall (paraphrased.)


21



You are absolutely priceless. What someone thinks of you, whatever may happen to you, no matter who loves you (or rejects you), nothing can diminish your worth or your worthiness. You. Are. Priceless.


10, 14, 17



Not knowing what you’re doing is a lot less terrifying than not knowing who to trust.


14, 19, 21



Which line of poetry would you get tattooed?


17



Go to Montgomery County Fair


5-14



Read (or listen to) A Fragile Stone together.


15



Don’t bring a complaint without offering a solution.


17, 19, 21



Listen to books of love letters. I forget the title but one of the Bush twins wrote a book about her grandparents (George and Barbara). Stories about real love, real life. Fiction is great too but having a real world examples of happy partnerships is gold.


18



“If the pain was deep you will have to let it go many times.” Yung Pueblo from book Lighter


15, 18, 21



Trust fall. Learn to be vulnerable. You can’t say the wrong thing to the right person.


12, 16, 19, 21



Numbing doesn’t work. Let it hurt, let it heal, then it lets itself go.


15,21



Theme: Dignity


11



None of us sit high enough to look down on anybody.


11, 14, 17, 21



Test


1-2



1

Never follow an “I love you” with a “but...” Instead, follow it with “and...” or “that’s why...” Remember this when they’re young, teach it to them when they’re older.


10, 20



Discuss prescription (and OTC) medications. Doctors prescribe or recommend these medicines, they’re not for fun and should be taken seriously. Discuss how medicines are obtained, never shared, which is dangerous and illegal. Emphasize the risk of dependence.


10



You’ll be finished with school soon. The most important thing I hope you learned is that there is still so much yet to learn.


21