If you sleep with a girl, always call or text the next day. Don't be a d-bag.


18



Brennan Manning lectures and books.


19



You are a miracle. Take good care of yourself: Mind, body and soul.


21



Home is where people love you.


21



One of the funny/sensitive things about puberty is that kids can be the same age chronologically while being wildly varied in terms of development. Kid might be 6 feet tall in seventh grade or be a senior in high school and still not shaving. Everyone is self conscious, praying to avoid embarrassment. It’s all just part of growing up. Be kind to yourself and to your equally mortified peers.


11, 12, 13



The opposite of depression is expression.


15



We can disagree with people and still be respectful of them. (When what they espouse is something that hurts people, that’s where you can draw the line.)


16



Keep going. Push yourself. The struggle makes it all the more worth it.


17, 21



When you feel like judging someone, try to resist the urge and get curious instead. There’s always a story.


16



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


21



The bull-sh*t never ends. Dealing with the bull-sh*t IS your job. If you think you’ll ever reach a “post-bullsh*t stage in your life, you’re wrong.


12, 15, 19, 21



There is an expression “God only gives you what you can handle.” I think that’s backwards. I think that God gives you the grace you need to handle whatever comes your way. He is faithful and generous. I think that’s what “Be not afraid” means.


17



What I most want to teach you this year is that you can always trust me. I will always love you, take care of you and never harm you. You may not always like me, but you can always trust me.


1



Sometimes it just takes a while to catch on. I had to watch Game of thrones 3 or 4 times before I could keep track of all the characters and subplots. Record your lectures so you can replay them a few times.


13,15,19



Go as a family to local high school musical productions.


9-13



1

Listen to podcast “1912” about an incident of alarming racial injustice Forsyth County GA.


12



Enroll in cooking lessons. We'll need to find you someone who knows how to cook. (Don't tell mom I said that.)


14



Start saving money early. Save as much as you can. There are plenty of things worth spending your money on, but be mindful about your money - Don’t p*ss it away.


15, 20



“I don’t know what I think until I write about it.” - Joan Didion


15



Not all babies are born healthy. There’s grief over that, a painful letting go of hopes and expectations, but eventually parents begin to dream different dreams for their baby. You have it within you to love deeply


21



Look into YMCA “family camp” in PA.


7



Brambly Hedge series by Jill Barklem.


2-5



Sometimes the only thing you can do is to show up. Be there.


13, 15, 17, 21



Summers in Ireland and UK Drama camps? I could work from there while he did his thing.


12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17



Be generous in all things. That is my hope for you.


14, 18, 21



1

Practice sitting and standing "like a statue" to teach them how to be still. Start with a goal of 5 or 10 seconds, gradually move to 2 minutes. Same thing for "silent game" to teach them how to stay quiet when they need to. Bribery helps teaching this concept!


3-4



Never any point in arguing with drunks or fools.


17



Letting go hurts. There's no two ways about it. You just gotta feel it and get through it. Cry. Sweat it out. Sing, run, write, or just scrub floors. You will get through it, and you will be stronger and more compassionate.


14



No matter how successful you become you’re still expected to act with integrity and respect.


14, 18, 21



Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower.”


14