Never take friendships for granted. Show up. Reach out. Be there when they need you. Friends are gifts; tend to those relationships with love.


15, 20



Zootopia is a good movie to illustrate what a bully is and how we should stand up to them when they are hurting or taunting other kids.


5-8



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



Dress for the job you want, not the one you have. Unless you're a lifeguard. ;)


16, 21



They are looking for your support, not your solutions. Applies to all ages.


2, 3, 4, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 21



Practice being embarrassed. Tell embarrassing stories. Help them learn how to deal with the sensation.


9



You’re someone’s cup of tea. I don’t mean there is only one person out there for you, I mean someone is waiting to love you exactly how you are. Stop wasting time with fools who want to change you to fit their ideal.


15, 19, 21



You don’t have to go to college, but whether you do or not, I implore you to read. If you’re like me a slow reader, pace yourself but keep at it. Read bestsellers and classics. Fiction, biography, history, art, every damn thing. A big regret of my life is that I never tried to love reading as a kid. Do yourself a favor and carve out time to read every day. Even if’s it’s just a few pages. Your mind will sharpen and your heart will be full and your soul will be fed.


10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 21



Read up about the National Parks. Pick one to plan a trip to.


9



Read If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin. Young adult coming of age story.


14, 17



When making decisions or setting goals etc, approach from the perspective of your truest self. That’s integrity.


14, 18, 21



Look up crowd cow for meat delivery.


10



Read article about Digital Learning/ transitioning to doing homework on a computer. http://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/it-doesnt-have-to-stay-on-the-screen


10



Blessing for the Brokenhearted: Poem by Jan Richardson ___________ "There is no remedy for love but to love more." – Henry David Thoreau ________________________ ________________________ Let us agree for now that we will not say the breaking makes us stronger or that it is better to have this pain than to have done without this love. __________Let us promise we will not tell ourselves time will heal the wound, when every day our waking opens it anew. ___________Perhaps for now it can be enough to simply marvel at the mystery of how a heart so broken can go on beating, as if it were made for precisely this— as if it knows the only cure for love is more of it, as if it sees the heart’s sole remedy for breaking is to love still, as if it trusts that its own persistent pulse is the rhythm of a blessing we cannot begin to fathom but will save us nonetheless.


20



Fall in love with a person, not a feeling.


19



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



The opposite of addiction is connection.


11, 14, 17, 20



I’d rather you be brave than perfect. Take chances. Fail, then pick yourself up and keep going.


18



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



Stuff will happen and you’ll think “I can’t get through this. I can’t go on.” In the moment it really feels that way. But ...You will survive. You’ll find a way. Never give up on yourself. I never will.


17



“If you can’t figure something out, figure out how to figure it out.” - Paul Graham


18



Practice real-life mental math: Calculate time / age: If someone was born in 1994 how old are they today? Make change in your head: Cost is 14.27, how much change do you have if you give the cashier 20 bucks? Calculate percentages: tips, tax brackets, sales!!


12, 14, 20



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


15



If you witness a moment of vulnerability in someone, keep it to yourself. Be respectful of people's dignity.


14-18



Give them the book Starfish by Lisa Fipps.


12, 14



Geocaching


5-11



Best take on parenting: “My kid is never gonna not feel safe with me.”


1, 5, 10, 15



Model good nutrition and fitness routine.


4



Write your own job description. When you've been around long enough to know what you're good at and can identify what needs in the company you can help with.


21



Watch documentary The Rescue together.


15