School shootings are a result of blind rage and complete hopelessness. First, ban the f*cking guns. But we need to teach our kids how to handle big emotions. To expect them, how learning to navigate them is like learning to fly an F16. It will be tough, yes but you will learn how to fly expertly, safely, and with your own style and flair.


12-15



Educate yourself. You can't solve a problem if you don't understand it.


14-21



The only thing that matters is love. When we live with love - for God, for others and ourselves, that is what makes life worth living.


16



If you’re unable to help someone, help someone else. Throw some goodness or beauty in the bucket of humanity.


16



Being well-read is better (and cheaper) than an advanced degree, especially for broader education. Stay curious and read!! Fiction, non-fiction, biographies ...


15, 18, 21



Stay put, don’t wonder if lost when we hike.


2, 3, 5



Doing something you don’t want to do just to look cool is the opposite of cool.


9, 11, 14, 15, 19, 21



Sadness means you need love. (From another person, a pet, yourself.) Someone whose presence brings you comfort. May be dead, living, fictional, historical figure, religious (god, saints, Buddha, etc.) Live and in person is best though. Let someone love you how you need to be loved.


19, 21



Isometrics for “punishment” (wall sits, arm lifts, planks, etc.)


5



Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower.”


14



Go on a cruise


12-15



A useful opening line in a conversation (personal, parenting or professional) is “What should I know about ...”. It shows you understand you have something to learn, and it makes people feel valued. “What should I know about what’s going on at football practice?”


14



Wintergreen snow sledding trip.


6



My best parenting advice


1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17



Enrich your mind. Refresh your body. Renew your spirit. - Andrew Weil, MD.


13, 16, 19, 21



George Lucas’ documentaries on WWI, Russian Revolution, etc.YouTube Lucas Films.


14, 17



Just let them be who they are. Enjoy getting to know them.


1-21



You may lose a relationship but you keep the love. It becomes a part of you. It changes you for the better.


15, 19, 21



Send thank you acknowledgemnt for gifts received


1-21



Zoom out! Perspective is your friend. At certain times in our lives we have the focus turned up so high that we don’t see beyond ourselves. (Adolescence is one of those times, totally natural.) Zoom out. You’ll feel better.


13, 15, 17, 21



Drill on stuff that will be valuable throughout their lifetime: Vocabulary, geography, addition and subtraction.


10, 12, 14, 20



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


15, 21



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



You don’t have to choose to be single forever to enjoy being single for now.


17, 21



Rock those babies to sleep as often as you can.


0, 1, 2



If someone wants to leave you, let them. Don’t waste your energy trying to prove your worth to anyone.


14, 19, 21



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



Ask “What are you going to teach ME?” Let him work on something to teach.


11