I was supposed to be the next Charles Schulz or Bill Watterson. Or so I thought. In my senior year in high school, I planned to go to art school and become a famous illustrator. I did go to art school, but along the way, I also fell in love with God, and very shortly thereafter, the girl I would marry. In a sappy attempt to win her heart, I gave her drawings featuring cartoon characters inspired by our childhood photos. Before long, they became stars of a comic strip called Kim & Jason. I was driven to follow in the footsteps of Schulz and Watterson, feeling called to develop it …
Festival of Shenanigans Awards Show | Escape Adulthood LIVE #118
On this show, on the Adultitis-ridden holiday known as Tax Day, we’re reviewing highlights and handing out awards for the first-ever Festival of Shenanigans!
Hang out with Kim & Jason Kotecki as they inspire, entertain, and encourage you in your fight against Adultitis. If you attend live, you’ll be able to see and chat with fellow Adultitis Fighters, have the chance to ask questions, and win epic prizes! 
New episodes: https://www.escapeadulthood.me
Get notified when new shows go live & replays are available here.
LINKS FROM THIS SHOW: …
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Checkmate: What to Do When Your Chessboard Gets Flipped
Candyland is the worst game ever. It's generous to even call it a game, for there is no strategy involved. I still cringe thinking about the times my kids begged to play it. Of course, although it may feel like a modern-day torture device to torment adults, it was designed for children. It introduces the basics of gameplay: following instructions, taking turns, and counting spaces. Eventually, we graduate to a game like checkers, which offers more strategy but is simple enough to pick up in a short amount of time. And then there are games like chess, which are infinitely more …
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A Season of Miracles
The grass in our yard is the faded yellow of a brittle old newspaper. Had I not experienced it happen every year for nearly a half-century, I'd think it ludicrous to suggest that it would somehow come back to life. But soon it will be a vibrant green and I will be paying some teenager to drive all over it on a tractor to keep it from growing into a jungle. Spring is a miracle. Unfortunately, like most miracles we encounter in life, we don the proverbial “Been there, seen that, got the t-shirt” t-shirt. I remember planting beans in elementary school, pressing them into black …
From Gold Stars to Gut Checks: Grading What Matters Most
My dad tells a story from his childhood when he received a report card with less than stellar marks. He didn't want to show his mom but knew she'd have to sign it before he returned it to his teacher. So he had the bright idea of placing gold foil stars over the offending grades, explaining they were a new sign of stellar performance. Once the signature was secured, he joyfully skipped to school, chucking the carefully peeled-off stars to the wind. Years later, when cleaning out Grandma's things, we found the evidence: an old brittle report card with a few stars still holding on for dear …
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The Need for Nipkins
The gauntlet had been thrown down. What choice did I have? We were on a road trip...somewhere. The details don't matter, but I'm pretty sure we were rolling up to Dairy Queen for some Blizzards. Someone in my family, probably my wife, challenged me to request extra "nipkins" at the drive-thru window. Not napkins, NIPkins. And with that, my honor was on the line. I could not allow myself to be shamed in front of my own children by failing to accept this summons. On that day, I am proud to say, I rose to the challenge, growing three feet taller in the eyes of my wife and children …
Festival of Shenanigans | Escape Adulthood LIVE #117
On this show, we’re celebrating the fifth anniversary of the show and kicking off the first-ever Festival Shenanigans, the silliest 17 days you ever did see!
Hang out with Kim & Jason Kotecki as they inspire, entertain, and encourage you in your fight against Adultitis. If you attend live, you’ll be able to see and chat with fellow Adultitis Fighters, have the chance to ask questions, and win epic prizes!
New episodes: https://www.escapeadulthood.meGet notified when new shows go live & replays are available here. LINKS FROM THIS SHOW: …
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Caught Not Taught
Teaching is overrated. Oh, did that get your attention? Good. Now let me tell you what I mean. As parents who homeschool, Kim and I have thought a lot about our role as teachers. And I've been fortunate to speak to thousands of educators over the years, encouraging them in a job that's become more difficult with each passing year. I don't think that teachers are overrated, just one particular part of their job. The teaching part. I've made many observations over many years as a homeschooling parent. It's clear to me that kids have no trouble learning. It's a built-in feature. …
In Pursuit of Greatness
Ron Swanson, Timothée Chalamet, and my dad walked into a bar. Out came this article. Let's start with Mr. Chalamet, the brilliant young actor who received a Screen Actors Guild award for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. His acceptance speech caused a stir, not because it was controversial, but because it was so uncommon: "I know the classiest thing would be to downplay the effort that went into this role and how much this means to me, but the truth is this was five years of my life. I poured everything I had into playing this incomparable artist, Mr. …
Expectations Are the Thief of Peace
Recently, I had a wonderful, tremendously productive day that felt like a failure thanks to one crucial mistake. It's a mistake you and I make all the time. I'll start by saying I find it incredibly helpful to plan my day the night before. As I've gotten older, my approach has gotten wiser. Rather than trying to squeeze everything into unbending blocks of time, experience has taught me to build in breathing room for the inevitable swerves that arise. Still, some days never have enough breathing room. On this particular day, one project took waaaay longer than I expected, …