Do the work. No short-cuts.


14



Difficult conversations are…difficult. If you have to deliver bad news, don’t beat around the bush but prepare them for what’s coming rather than just blurting it out. “I have some news that’s going to be difficult to hear…” Or “Is this a good time to talk?” Those are just a couple examples, but many more are available. Look it up or ask people who routinely have to give bad news.


20



Adjust your expectations but never lower your standards.


12, 15, 18, 21



Highly encourage typing/ keyboarding class.


14



My favorite version of myself is when I’m not worried about what others think of me. I


11, 13, 15, 17, 21



Anger is the bodyguard of sadness.


12-15, 21



Be open to the possibility that you might be wrong.


12, 14, 17, 21



Throw leftovers and some cut up veggies in an omelette/ frittata. Cuts down on food waste and saves money.


17



I want you to remember that for the first three years of your life I couldn’t take a poop without you on my lap. So there will be no shirking hugs from Mom now that you’re a teenager. xoxo


14



Tragedy may occur in your life, but it does not need to define your life. YOU get to do that...through the choices you make. _______I know you’ll make good ones. xo


19



In professional setting: Limit one exclamation point per email, if any. Definitely no emoticons.


19



When you’re getting serious in a relationship here’s something to consider- To what extent is your partner is willing to put others’ needs before their own?


21



Teach them to clean the bathroom. Wipe down surfaces, clean mirrors, etc. It’s their job to keep it tidy. Everybody pitches in to keep up with housework.


4-18



Teach them that when we hear sirens it means someone is in trouble but help is on the way.


2-5



Consider the source. When you get information, look at where or who it’s coming from. Do you trust them? Are they an expert? When someone criticizes you. Do they know why they’re talking about and are they taking chances themselves. Pay no attention to hecklers.


15



Spend time with people you admire, in person and biographies, documentaries, novels and movies.


14-17, 21



Some days it feels like your world is falling apart, but what's really happening is that it's falling into place. Make good choices. Be kind. Be brave. Trust.


15, 21



If a girl is drunk she cannot consent. Don’t even think about hooking up when your partner is intoxicated. It’s immoral and illegal. No excuses. No exceptions. . Break this law and you will be (rightfully) charged with rape and you will get sent to prison.


15



Read “Spare” by Prince Harry.


20



Teach tuck to drive


15



Learn how to sail together


12-15



vaccinate! Science is good.


0, 1, 2, 3, 5



Fire drills. Practice what to do, where to go if the house is on fire. Have an escape plan.


5-10



Sometimes fear feels like a signal to get out of there, but being uncomfortable in a new situation is totally normal. Practice sitting in that discomfort and you’ll find it gets easier.


9, 12, 15, 17, 21



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


17



“Tell me the story of your day.” (Works better than “how was your day?”


5, 6, 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



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


11



Pool safety- never touch equipment and always have a grownup present when swimming.


3-8