When you’re a young parent, you are likely in your 20’s or early 30’s. And because life is still new and coming at you pretty fast, there are so many things to learn and juggle that some elements just aren’t noticed or given the weight they should. That’s just the way of things. As life progresses and you get your footing, you gain the time and mindshare to look a little more deeply into the [...]
Dinnertime discussions - If we were to list the things that made our family so connected, dinner time conversations would be near the top. Rich and Shelly wrote on this topic (here) which is worth a re-read. Our take on this critical family engagement opportunity has brought back many great memories. Dinner time was a priority, particularly Sunday night. Although occasionally Dave was working into nighttime activities during the week, he made it a priority [...]
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. - Reinhold Niebuhr These are troubled times. Some families have been hit hard, some less so, and some even harder. If we look at economics alone, money is like oxygen, how do people react when deprived of it for any length of time? It’s completely understandable that [...]
What does it mean to be a Marr? This is one of the most important questions we faced as a young family. Being a Marr was not a question we contemplated walking down the aisle. For the two of us growing up in different cultures, Lis in Sweden and Dave in California, it’s interesting that family identity wasn’t one of the topics either of us encountered at the dinner table. But in raising our three [...]
Here are 5 ingredients to consider as you cook up ways to improve your marriage. We say ingredients as if to a delicious meal because each plays a role in the overall experience – none standing alone, each interacting to enhance the whole. There is no priority among these elements as circumstances could make a case for the emphasis of any element over the others. Yet each flavor adds a spice that truly makes a five-star meal. [...]
With anything that is a skill, there are basics that can be honed into muscle memory that make performance easy and effective. Whether it’s scooping up ground balls, shooting free throws, knocking in a 4-foot putt, or developing a pre-swing routine, it is these fundamentals you must practice over and over, not because fundamentals are simple (because they are not), but because the rest of the game is founded on the principles inherent in them. [...]
One trait that separates humans from animals is our curiosity, the fascination we have with discovering new things. The dopamine hit and mental energy that comes from satisfying curiosity can develop a golden outcome where mental growth leads to understanding, more confidence, and more fascination about life that is increasingly more satisfying. A lifetime of mental exploration in an infinite universe of discovery. Isn’t this what we want for our kids? What can you do [...]
Today’s Letter is from Dave to the Dads I put my hand on Dano’s forehead and started shaking it back and forth in a way I knew would make him laugh. “Ok, I see it. Here it comes¦. Wow! It’s a rocket ship and you’re blasting off into outer space. Dano, this is going to be a great dream. Ok, you’re pressed back into your chair as the rocket leaves the earth’s orbit” as I [...]
Adventure. Doesn’t that sound exotic? To us the word conveys a sense of travel with new sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and experiences. To us the notion of adventure has been to answer the call of travel. Since Lis grew up in Sweden, we traveled to visit her parents every other year and took the opportunity to explore other countries. The stresses of travel can be pretty taxing on old and young alike, so having a [...]
Maybe your children are very young and the prospect of them going off into the world and being independent of you seems a far away dream. Your children are a part of your life and don’t have a life of their own so dependent are they on your inputs. You help them understand the world based on your understanding. Your views, your filtering of what they see, your nurturing and disciplining shapes their very understanding [...]