After a speaking gig in Houston years ago, we drove down to Galveston to spend a little time near the Gulf. Our daughter Lucy, almost four years old at the time, waded in the water, immersed in a game she liked to call “tricking the waves.” Kim commented on how much deeper she was willing to go compared to just a few months earlier when we were in Florida. Now, Lucy didn’t go diving headfirst into the surf or anything, but she didn’t need to. She was being, as I like to say, “just brave enough.” …
Archives for September 2012
Parenthood is Definitely Not Like Politics
So we have officially started home schooling. I imagine we’ll share all the reasons for this at some point, but I’m pretty sure the main reason is because...we’re crazy. One thing I’ve noticed so far about parenthood is that the things our kids most readily pick up from us has nothing to do with the carefully crafted “lessons” we try to put forth. It’s definitely not like a political campaign, where you create an image with stories and photo-ops in order to present a pre-defined message to voters. No, kids aren’t fooled by spin. They see all sides of you, and the lessons they learn from the …
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Mustache Straws Make Everything Better
I don’t know what it is about mustaches, but they’re quite the trend. The best I can tell, fake ones are still more popular than the real ones (with apologies to Mr. Tom Selleck.) You may remember a post a few months back in which I suggested the idea of having a mustache cookout. This week I’m sharing another mustache-related project because it’s fun and funny, and a ridiculously easy way to upset Adultitis. Which pretty much covers our M. O. around here. …
Time to Get Wild
If you combine television, computers and any mobile devices you may have, how much screen time do you have each day? It may not seem like a lot, but a half hour here, a few minutes there, and it really adds up. It’s probably more than you think, and the number would probably depress you. Here’s an even more alarming fact: More people die globally from inactivity than from smoking. Yikes. So I recently stumbled across Project Wild Thing, and it is brilliant. They assert that children today are getting “dangerously tame.” Their mission is to re-connect 1 million kids with nature. Of …
We’re Waiting for Your Revolution
Last year, Amazon.com sold more ebooks than printed books. It’s been a fascinating rise, ushered forth by the iPad and Kindle. Even more fascinating is seeing how the industry is reacting to it. In many ways, ebooks are upsetting the apple cart, and people with businesses geared toward the old way of doing things are not happy about it. So it was with great interest that I read an article in Mental Floss magazine about the advent of paperback books, and their similar assault on the status quo. In 1939, Robert de Graff introduced softcover books to America, offering them for just 25¢, while …
Intentional Magic
You know how they say you always receive more when you give? Well, I've seen this proven once again in my life and I feel über blessed. The first Escape Adulthood Summit has come and gone, and as I reflect on all of the preparation and the outcome, I cannot help but see two words rise above as my "lesson learned." Intentional. Magic. …
Ding Dong Ditch 2.0
One of my favorite parts of the first ever Escape Adulthood Summit was tapping into the collective knowledge and wisdom of every in attendance. We spent a few hours on Saturday afternoon sharing insights and ideas to help each other with various hot button issues. One of the things that got brought up by a camp director named Jen was the subject of pranking. Pulling pranks and practical jokes is fun in large part because of the rush of excitement that comes from getting away with something and creating a scenario that contains the element of surprise. Unfortunately, it too often makes the …