Escape Adulthood

Archives for April 2019

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Life is Like a Box of Easter Eggs

My kids discovered a YouTube video that highlighted dozens of unique ways to decorate Easter eggs. They were excited to try out some of the new techniques they learned, many of which were new to me as well. There’s no one way to decorate an Easter egg. It reminded me that there’s also no one way to create an amazing life.  There are lots of different ways to earn money.There are lots of different ways to spend it.There are lots of different ways to allocate your time.And lots of options of where and who to spend that time with. Of course, you can do things by the book. You …

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Neil Mathweg, April 2019 Adultitis Fighter of the Month

An Adultitis Fighter is someone who rallies against rules that don't exist and engages in ruthless, senseless acts of silliness that undermine Adultitis and its unadventurous version of adulthood. Once a month, we shine a light upon the most remarkable among us, holding them up as a dazzling example of what we should strive for in this epic battle against a formidable enemy. Neil Mathweg may be 40, but you might guess he’s been drinking from the magical fountain of youth for years. Neil has managed to stay childlike and joyful, generously sharing his vibrant personality and creativity …

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Are You Suffering From Indecent Exposure?

Do you ever feel like our world is going to heck in a hand basket? Are you discouraged by current events and the downward spiral of civility? Does it seem like nobody cares anymore? You might be suffering from indecent exposure. What we watch on TV, the discussions we engage in online, and who we spend time with all influence our worldview, casting it in either a positive or negative light. If we are exposed to negativity, that negativity will influence us. Let's start with the so-called "news." No matter what side of the political aisle you are on and which cable news show you …

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The Bad Thing About Tax Refunds

Tomorrow is tax day in the United States. For many years, Kim and I looked forward to a tax refund, dreaming about how big it might be and what we'd do with the windfall. It felt like a little present, which is weird, because if you buy a sandwich with a twenty dollar bill and the clerk gives you fifteen dollars back, you don’t thank him for the gift. Of course, it was really our money all along. We simply paid more taxes than we were required to over the course of the year, and the government sent us back the change. In the early days, the main reason we got such a good refund is …

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A Message for When You Feel Like a Failure

Grace is a tricky thing. It’s something we all need but are loathe to accept. Although we perhaps aren’t as generous with it as we could be, we’d still much rather give it than receive it. My son Ben is seven. He has been writing books, typing pages on the computer and printing them out, leaving plenty of space for illustrations. (As I have taught him. ;) His most recent version was about Ninjago, a weighty tome that was a full eight pages in length. Ben’s big sister Lucy served as editor, helping correct some misspellings and punctuation errors. Before her involvement, the sentences …

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