Popular comedian Bernie Mac died last Saturday. He was only 50 years old. I was always impressed by his energy, enthusiasm and passion. I read an article about his passing and was struck by a particular passage: In 2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" that he planned to retire soon. "I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977." Now I don't know what Bernie meant by "soon" in regards to his retirement, but …
Maintain Perspective
9 Lessons From the Bump
As the baby bump grows bigger and the end of November seems to approach more rapidly with each day, I'm having fun reflecting on the lessons I'm learning along the way... lessons that are specific to my situation of carrying our first baby (KoJu as the RodeoClown calls him/her, "Kotecki Junior"), but these lessons can also be applied to anyone looking to live life with less stress and more fun. 1. Take care of yourself. Eat foods that are good for you, drink water, exercise regularly, breathe deep, stretch daily, sleep long enough, and make an effort to stay on an even keel. 2. Don't …
Age, Attitude, and Adultitis
Jason loves to surprise me. One day a few weeks ago while I was on a walk with a friend, he busily scurried around to paint the nursery, then he patiently waited for me to go in there and notice, which was about 10 hours of waiting! (I would never have been able to wait that long!) Another morning, after talking the day before about the fact that Coldplay was coming to Chicago, he surprised me by sharing that he got us two tickets. (WOO HOO!) His love of surprises is a very childlike trait! And it's sure fun to be on the receiving end. The concert, Coldplay's Viva La Vida Tour, was this …
Fear Mongering
Last night Jason was enjoying the All-Star game and while flipping channels at the commercial break he saw a promo for the evening news. "The fourth Madison murder this year! Is this a growing problem? Are you safe?" Something tells me that watching that news clip would've helped me sleep like a baby last night. (catching the sarcasm, here?) There's a huge distance between being informed and fear mongering. Not to be a media basher, but the reality is that bad new sells. Here's a sampling of the top news stories in Madison last night... Murder on Madison's South Side, Abduction …
Summer Staples
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that my childhood summers were "the good 'ol days." Truly the lazy days of life. Why not recapture some of those moments as grown-ups? It's a surefire way to annihilate any Adultitis in your life. If you haven't done one of these five things this summer, you need to get out your calendar and schedule one in... NOW. 1. Catch a lightening bug and put it in a jar in your bedroom. 2. Grill out and have a picnic. Don't forget the sweet corn and cherry pie. 3. Go to an ice cream stand and get a treat, the more scoops the better. 4. Lay under the stars …
Tip of the Week: Rebel With a Cause
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #9: Rebel With a Cause: Do one thing today to support a cause or issue you really care about. Do you have a cause that tugs at your heart strings so much that it will bring you to tears (or close to it) in the matter of seconds? Whatever that cause or issue is, I hope you're taking the time to share your gifts and talents in support of it. In the spirit of this week's tip, I'm going to do the challenge, myself, by sharing with you about something cool happening this week, on a TV near you! …
The Root of the Problem
How old were you when you did your first stress-relieving deep breathing exercise? The NBC station in Charleston, SC recently did a story on the way a local middle school is reacting to the stress levels of their students. They now provide weekly announcements which include deep breathing and positive thinking exercises. Students of every age are feeling pressure too from high homework loads, to overscheduled days. Cardiologist Dr. John Kennedy says 'we all have stress in our lives so if you can teach kids to manage it early, we can protect them from the chronic problems of stress later in …
Tip of the Week: Memory Maker
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is: #10: Memory Maker: Create a memory today with someone you care about that will mean a lot ten years from now. Last week Jason and I made one such memory. We had the opportunity to tour one of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles. Living in Madison, the official home base of the Weinermobiles, we've seen them around town a number of times. We have never had the chance to get a tour, though, from the official Hotdoggers (the team that drive and maintain the 27 foot long hot dogs on wheels). It was definitely a memory that Jason and I …
Summer For Some Kids
What happened to the lazy days of a child's summer vacation? When we first moved to Madison eight years ago I spent the summer working for a summer daycare/day camp. We had third through fifth graders. The daycare hours were 7AM- 6PM. This was the first time my eyes were opened to the reality of what summer vacation is like for many modern kids. As one of the many "teachers" we tried to give the kids unstructured time, in order to let them feel like they could enjoy the lazy days of summer. Honestly, though, there is only so much you can do. Maintaining sanity and safely in a program with …
Beware Common Knowledge
One of the advantages children have over adults is that they are not yet bogged down and limited by "common knowledge." For children, everything is on the table. They see life in a colorful kaleidoscope of possibility. As they get older, the world is all too eager to impart its "common knowledge," informing them of what's really possible, and what's really not. Talking heads -- folks with fancy degrees, oodles of experience, and impressive titles -- squawk their opinions on our TV sets and "Internets" and we are expected to accept their guesses as factual truth. If only their track record …