It’s hard to want something and not have it. Kids have to learn how to sit with that.


3-17



Look into Rustic Pathways to see the world and do some good.


15



Procrastinating is an Olympic sport for those of us with ADHD. Talk about ways to get “unstuck.” 1. Change your body - move to a different room or take a walk. 2. If you can’t move your body, move your focus. 3. Ask your brain how it’s trying to help you by paralyzing you. 4. Take deep breaths and let go of the shame and self-doubt you feel for getting stuck.


8, 9, 10, 14, 21



“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” - Maya Angelou


12, 15, 21



When you feel like you’re on fire with anger or fear, if you can’t shake it, put that fire to good use.


14



Rudeness is a weak person’s imitation of strength.


13, 21



Read poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver. (“...You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves...”)


17



“When you are not fed love off a silver spoon you will learn to lick it off of knives.” Lauren Eden (poet)


0, 20



Find what you love Do what you love Be what you love Live what you love Love what you love and never look back ... Except to love.


19



Always keep a can of WD-40 in the house.


21



“There’s a hole in the side of a boat. It can’t be fixed, it’s never going away, and you can’t get a new boat. This is your boat. What u have to do is bail water out faster than it’s coming in.” -Aaron Sorkin (Newsroom season 3 episode 6.)


17, 21



Rain, snow or sleet...Always return the shopping cart to the proper spot in the parking lot.


17



Listen to The Moth (storytelling) together.


15



Consensual sex requires no persuasion, convincing or begging.


14, 17



Two big things. Control yourself, not others. Learn to react less.


12, 16, 19, 21



You don’t owe me a thing. Live your life as you will. I will always love you.


18, 21



ALWAYS pee before you sit down to nurse a baby.


Infant-1



Try not to confuse excess with quality. It’s okay not to have the biggest house on the block. It’s okay not to drive the fanciest car.


21



So many young adults (and older one too) suffer from a lack of direction, living life without a sense of purpose. ______Here’s my advice: **Do what you love**. ____If you don’t know what that is yet (totally okay) then *go where you’re needed.**___ Make yourself USEFUL doing some sort of work that makes the world (or your family or your community or your country) a better place. Please don’t sit around playing video games or goofing off. That will make you miserable! ___ AND it’s a waste of God’s work (you.) Get busy. _____Stay involved in anything you care about deeply, or that needs you desperately. It will feed your soul and open all kinds of doors.


12, 14, 17



Before a play date or sleepover ask the parent “Are there any unlocked guns in the house?”


6-9



Be mindful of privilege. Discuss the concept, point it out where you see it.


11-18



Don’t confuse a broken dream for a broken future. Or a broken heart for a broken life.


13, 15, 17, 19, 21



If you’re ever in a situation where you’re worried you might need people to believe you in the future, take contemporaneous notes. Write or record what happened, how you responded. Focus on the facts but don’t ignore your thoughts or feelings, include them in your notes. Date and sign it. Keep it safe.


14, 17, 19, 21



Be kinder than necessary.


9, 15, 21



Slip and Slide party!


8



Never say anything behind someone's back that you wouldn't say to their face.


11, 14, 18



Don’t bring a complaint without offering a solution.


17, 19, 21



Lookout for the girls when you’re in a group. Some boys will try to take advantage or straight up r@pe them. Your responsibility goes beyond avoiding harming anyone. Your male privilege is a perk…earn it. Protect girls from sketchy dudes. No big deal, just help when you can and then move along. Don’t expect a cookie.


14,15, 16, 17, 21



“When it comes to consequences, don’t speak what you won’t serve.” Meaning don’t threaten any punishment you’re not willing to enforce. This is helpful in terms of teaching the child a lesson and also an important lesson in not shooting yourself in the foot. (I took away your tv one day you were home on a snow day. Bad idea. That punishment was against my own interest! I got no work done.


2