Posts Tagged ‘Parenting’
The Questions That Will Make My Grandson Amazing
Another grandson was born recently, so my wife and I traveled to North Dakota to spend time with him (and his parents, too). While holding Little Roy and listening to his grunts and cooing, I couldn’t help but consider the LIFE before him. What will he become? Will he choose to follow his mother and father’s…
Read MoreIs It Worth Raising Remarkable Gentlemen?
Are we losing the battle of raising gentlemen? Does the world even value these traditional traits anymore? Is There Room In Today’s World For Gentlemen? I refuse to make an excuse for these expectations, even in a climate frowning upon such gentleman basics. The threat may be a misperceived notion that I am teaching my…
Read MoreMy 1968 Calico Dream Machine
My parents promised to go in halfsies with me on my first vehicle. They had no idea of my expectations. Let me back up a little. In the Beginning The day I turned 16 years old, my parents dropped me off with our 12-passenger family van at the local DMV to take my driver’s test—really,…
Read MoreYou Didn’t Get a Trophy? Work harder!
“Hey, Johnson.” “Yes, sir?” “You’ve done an average, blasé job this year. I’m putting you I for a raise” “But sir, wait, what?” Ever had this happen at work? Yeah, me neither (my name’s not Johnson anyway). So why are we treating our kids this way? Are we really teaching our children anything positive by…
Read MorePotty Training With Alexa
My daughter-in-law is a genius! Well, she and Alexa are geniuses! My son and daughter-in-law received an Amazon Echo as a gift from her sister this past Christmas. Alexa played music for them on command and everyone was happy. Little did she know what lay in store… One of my grandsons, Harrison, hit the ripe…
Read MoreEvery Choice has a Consequence
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. — Viktor Frankl How we react—how we choose to react—to situations, truly defines us. But the overlying truth is that we “choose.” You are free to make choices, but…
Read MoreRely on a Solid Foundation
The greatest gift you can give your children. When building any structure, the most critical part is starting with a solid foundation. You could argue that other parts of the structure are just as important, though all discussions will ultimately return to the soundness of the foundation. Would you ever consider building your dream…
Read MoreYou Want to Marry My Only Daughter?
Trading a son-in-law for a son. I have six kids. Okay, okay, just chill! That’s not where I’m going with this whole story, well, partly. I have five sons and one daughter. The perfect ratio. Not because she is any trouble. With my wife on one side of me at the dinner table, there is only one…
Read MoreAfter Living in the Parenthood, You Will Never Leave
I’ve been ADULT-ing for almost 33 years now (do the math and don’t judge). I’ve been PARENT-ing for almost 28 years. Gimme a second to sit dow, got a little light-headed there…back to the story. In parenting, there are basically three phases: Pre-Parenting (no kids), Full-On-Parenting (they’re all around me!), and Post-Parenting (just an FYI,…
Read MoreHow to Parent Using the Seniority Method
“Shotgun!” Back in the day (yes, I just said that), when it was time to go somewhere, you’d quickly call “shotgun” to get the front passenger seat. It was a quick form of victory. If you weren’t driving, then being the co-pilot was the next best spot in the vehicle. Though playing the seniority card…
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