Living in Wisconsin you can only imagine that there is a lot of talk about whether or not Brett Favre will retire this year. By the looks of the interview from New Year's Eve, I wouldn't be surprised if he does. Check out a fun Deal or No Deal version of that interview here. To retire or not to retire. What a big decision! So many baby boomers are being faced with this question earlier than they had originally thought, due to corporate budget cutting. Companies do package up the deal pretty nicely these days. It's too expensive to pay the guys/gals at the top. …
Maintain Perspective
Don’t Miss the Stories
I can't wait 'till I have kids. Well, I'm sure I'll miss things like extra spending money, freedom, and sleep... but I'm looking forward to the stories. You know, the fun crazy weird things your kids do. The things that you wish you had a video camera for, but usually don't. One thing I've noticed about many parents is that when they're in the foxhole, doing the nitty gritty day-to-day stuff that parents do, it can be easy to miss the stories. I'm hoping that's one of the advantages of having had the opportunity to watch so many of my peers and siblings become parents before me -- the …
Open Your Eyes
A new year is upon us. Even though most resolutions will be long gone before the sea of red and pink Valentines start showing up at Target (should be any minute now), a new year gives us an opportunity to reflect on our lives and consider what's ahead. This year, I challenge you to look at life in a new way; through a child's eyes. It's simple, but not easy. Adultitis conditions us to see the world in a certain, homogenous, filtered way. What possibilities are right in front of you, if only you had the ability to really open your eyes? …
Ready for ’07
As we stand here at the doorstep of 2007 and get ready to turn the doorknob, I can't help but poppin' on my iPod and listening to reflective songs from say, Coldplay or The Fray. For some reason I like to make the transition into the new year with a music video created by myself, in my head, using my memories and my music. Ok, I admit, my methods may be strange, but I think the process is still important. It's important to access where you were, where you're going, and where you really want to be. Hopefully the last two things match up. Jason and I did this together over some hot chocolates …
Joy, Peace, and Hope
Here we are three days from Christmas and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been busy wrapping gifts, checking the lists to make sure nothing has been forgotten, and feeling guilty about not baking any Christmas cookies. I would guess that this has been a stressful week for many. (Or am I the only one?) I had a very anti-"Bah Humbug" joyful experience today, which is just what I needed. I called a hotel group, Choice Privileges, to book some rooms for some upcoming gigs. These days it seems rare and notable to get a real person on the phone. I'm not just talking about automated …
Sleepless in Seattle
No, this isn't some sappy Tom Hanks movie. Kim and I got into Seattle yesterday just before the, um, hurricane hit. I've never seen anything quite like it. We didn't get much sleep because we happened to be on the 29th floor of a hotel in downtown Seattle while the 70+ mph winds whipped through the city. We even slept (or tried to) in the bathroom for a few hours because we weren't sure if the windows would blow out. When it's 1 am in the morning (and your body still thinks it's 3 am), you get all these strange visions in your head, most of them involving bad movie special effects and people …
Seriously
I believe that one of the many lessons children have to teach us -- if we have the wisdom to pay attention -- is to not take ourselves too seriously. Kids are unafraid to run around naked in front of strangers, wouldn't think twice about giggling in a fancy restaurant, and are willing to walk out of the house dressed as a Hawaiian cowboy ballerina at a moment's notice. Do we need to emulate their behaviors exactly? Probably not. (I'm sure your relatives will appreciate you being fully clothed this Christmas.) But we can follow their lead and take ourselves a little less seriously. …
Kindergarten Shopping
When I was in kindergarten my school had one of those shops set up where you could buy gifts for your family. All of the items were a buck or two. I made a list of everyone in my family and my mom gave me a few dollars and away I went. The shop was set up in the school library and they even had older students gift-wrapping the magical gifts for us. I was in awe! I had never been given the freedom to buy gifts for anyone without one of my parents supervising. Unfortunately many of the memories from this experience have faded but a few things still stand out. I was a little unclear about how …
Stressed-out Families
Jason shared an alarming number the other day- 38.5. That is the average number of minutes parents spend in conversation with their children each week. Yikes. December 5th is "Communicate With Your Kids Day!" Just the fact that "they" had to make a day encouraging people to do this says a lot. I was inspired to explore this subject a step further. If the number 38.5 seems low to you, consider this example of a typical day in the life of a busy family, offered by Frank Coetzee, …
38.5 Minutes a Week
I read the other day that the average parent spends about 38.5 minutes a week in conversation with his or her child. Thirty eight and a half minutes!!! A week!!! I was never good at story problems, and I'm not sure I could pass algebra again, but even I can do that math: that comes out to only 5.5 minutes a day. And we wonder why we have things like school shootings, alarming teen pregnancy rates, record numbers of high school dropouts, and teachers that can't teach because they're spending too much time...parenting. …