Some people think the world owes THEM. They have a backwards. We are servants. How can we best serve?


12-21



Teach them about shaken baby syndrome.


13



Think about building a career. Take low-paying or no-paying jobs that will give you the experience you need to build it. It's not all about the paycheck, especially when you're young and don't have too many bills to pay.


19-21



Make a Shutterfly book for each year and give it to them on their birthday.


5-18



Just because someone is an a-hole it doesn’t mean they’re wrong.


17, 21



Intimacy is a feeling of safety. To let yourself be seen, touched, known, without defenses.


17, 21



Choose to love despite the rage. See poem by Lucas Jones “ I Will Teach My Sons to be Dangerous Men.”


12, 14, 16, 19, 21



Avoid bird seed or pet food near your home. It attracts mice, rats, ticks, etc. keep bird feeders that use seed a good distance from the house. Try liquid feeders near windows. Or use a feed tray or hulled seeds (little waste.)


20



Your body will go through all sorts of shapes and sizes. You’ll have times when you’re gorgeous and times when you’re awkward or frumpy. Whether you’re having a great hair day or sporting a face full of angry pimples, your looks have never and will never define your worth. (And nobody else will ever be defined by theirs.)


13, 15, 21



Watch YouTube video on how to administer an Epi-pen injection. You have friends with allergies you may need to know how to do this.


11-15



Send thank you acknowledgemnt for gifts received


1-21



1

Sometimes I think the best way to take care of them is to teach them to take care of others: Littler kids, sick or disabled, those who’ve been left out.


5-7, 1Infant-12



Writing is thinking.


14, 17. 21



Best song for a good cry: “And so It Goes” by Billy Joel.


15, 21



Forget perfection. Nothing is perfect. No relationship, job, house, or day is perfect. Let go of expectations, be open to the mess.


18



Thomas Jefferson’s Ten Rules of Conduct. This makes a good exercise for penmanship or for writing “lines” as instructional punishment.


11



A red brow line is an early sleepiness cue. If you notice the skin around baby’s eyebrows seems red, they’re ready for a nap.


Infant-1



Sometimes there’s nothing else to do with the pain except to use it to build a new life.


13. 17, 19, 21



Google earth app means there's always a globe at hand. Point out states, countries or oceans when we hear about them.


4-9



If you’re having trouble finding your passion, read biographies and memoirs of people from all walks of life. There are so many worlds out there! You’ll find one that excites you, where your unique talents and skill set can shine.


19



Teach car maintenance: Adding air to tires, checking oil, etc.


13-17



Learning to keep your composure and maintain a respectful tone when you’re frustrated/angry/afraid/upset, etc. is a skill. PRACTICE it.


4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21



You can’t ask someone to change who they are before you live or accept them.


12, 15, 21



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


21



Use Shutterfly or something like it to make Christmas books and birthday books each year.


Infant-21



If you don’t know where to begin, picture where you want it to end, and work it backwards.


15, 21



Listen to records, a whole album at a time. 2 or 3 in a row. Bring friends, eat, drink, hangout, be goofy, dance, etc.


14-18



Of all the things I worry about, addiction is very high on the list. Begin talks (age appropriate) about addiction.


7



Just fill ‘em with love. Every other parenting mistake or deficit can be fixed, but if a child grows up thinking it’s not loved and doesn’t have a place in this world, that is a recipe for permanent and painful damage. Not necessarily “spoil” them, but cut them slack as often as possible. Just love ‘em up.


Infant-21



Go on a tour of the Kennedy Center. Free guided tours through Friends of the Kennedy Center.


10