As much as we enjoyed Halloween, we were always glad when it was behind us. Sure, we enjoyed many aspects of trick or treating like the time a 4 year old Elvis impersonator came to the door and said, “Thank you. Thank you very much” in his deepest little voice. But, with all the fun and excitement, there is also a certain kind of craziness that is driven by the childhood narcotic – Candy. It’s [...]
“Ok, bud. Get on the chair and we’ll play a game that will show you something that is really, really important to Mommy and Daddy. It’s called Trust. Climb up there and I’ll show you.” Each of our 3 kids went through this exercise at around 4 or 5 years old. The barstool stands 3 feet off the ground, so the height is very intimidating. “Ok, put your hands by your sides and close your [...]
When our boys were younger, we overloaded and overwhelmed our lives by trying to take advantage of every opportunity life presented – School activities, Sports, Etc. We naively thought balance and getting less busy in our lives would somehow occur on its own; thinking we had plenty of time and life would get less overwhelming in the near future. Fortunately, we discovered that life’s balance doesn’t just happen on its own. So, we came up [...]
In the first segment of Dodging Tragedy – Thoughts on How to Avoid Self Harm, we discussed factors that played a role in our son feeling isolated and depressed. However, the deeper contributing factor were well entrenched feelings of shame that ultimately manifested in the question of ‘to be or not to be’. Time alone for a person that has yet to develop self-control or gain understanding on the ways of being human can be [...]
Life is busy. With school, kids sports and activities, our daily life can easily be characterized by being hectic and overwhelming. Picking up Chic-fil-a on the way from practice can easily become the norm, rather than the exception, for getting everyone in the family fed. However, we discovered that Family Mealtime can actually make a significant impact on your family. Current research shows that having a shared Family Mealtime has huge benefits for marriages and [...]
For many of us, Summer means big vacations, a series of camps, summer sports leagues, pool days, amusement parks and other excitement to make it memorable, meaningful and fun. While all those activities are wonderful, the question many parents ask is, “How do we sustain the ‘fun’ on a day-to-day basis for the bulk of the summer?” What if we let our children play instead of keeping them entertained? Think back to what summers were [...]
When our boys were about 6 and 4 years old we began a new family tradition that helped us engage in meaningful conversations with them. Little did we know when we started how this tool would create many wonderful memories, help us communicate more effectively with our kids and take our parenting efforts and relationships with each of them to a higher level! One of Rich’s favorite memories growing up was visiting his grandparents and [...]
In talking with a dad of two boys, ages 9 and 7, he proudly told me the story of how his boys overcame adversity this past weekend. He had volunteered to be their basketball coach and, as such, was faced with corralling boys and girls into some sort of team, teach them some skills, and identify various positive qualities within each of them over the course of the season. It’s not about winning. The season [...]
Since we’re soon amidst the travel season, we thought it’d be appropriate to talk about traveling with children. This week is about planes, trains and automobiles and thoughts on making travel a pleasure for everyone. Yes, parents love their kids, but those rose-tinted glasses get a good cleaning when kids suffer the gauntlet of uncomfortable seating, long waits, time changes, strange food, disrupted sleep schedules, and stressed parents. Strangers will give your parenting ability the [...]
In every life there is a transition from the essence of youth into the experience of adulthood. Often within this transition is an episode that stands out as a hinge point of meaningful experience, which is designated as “the event” that dislodges one’s understanding from the rock of ignorance. These hinge point experiences are retold as testimonies. As authors of these weekly letters to you, we continually confront the question as to what is valuable, [...]