Back to school has always been very similar to the start of a new year for our family.  It marks the start of a new school year with renewed expectations and resolutions not only for our boys, but also for us as parents. For the kids, it’s a great time to get them refocused on their schedules, routines and revisit some lessons that were learned or challenges faced in the previous school year and over [...]

The value of some ideas to parents is immediate and obvious – don’t let 3-year-olds play in the street unattended; knives and electrical outlets don’t mix; too much sugar in a diet creates dependency. These are common sense notions because the “Cause and Effect” are obvious. These types of health and safety issues are somewhat clear in the early years of parenting. However, in other areas of parenting it is less clear what will be [...]

Summer!!! Gotta love it! Doesn’t that recall memories and create images of warm summer nights relaxing around the pool or play field with nary a care in the world? Playing with friends, drifting from day to day where every day is the weekend, Fourth of July and midsummer, watermelon, bathing suits, bare feet, endless games with friends, sleeping in, later nights awake, visiting Gramma and Grampa, family vacation, and hanging out with the siblings. Does [...]

On a business trip a few years ago, Rich encountered a special moment when he noticed an older business couple had brought along their two young granddaughters – maybe 6 and 8 – to help handout company literature at a business conference.  Fond memories flooded back when he witnessed the true joy, tenderness and love that those little girls shared with their Grandma and Grandpa. This business occasion was just a further indication of a [...]