Sometimes it’s easier to describe what a thing is *not* than to describe what it is.


14, 21



If you want to know what a woman wants in a man, I have a simple answer for you: watch the movie Scent of a Woman starring Al Pacino. Specifically, the tango scene.


14, 17, 21



Read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson together.


17



Read A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold (mother of Columbine shooter.)


12



We don’t always get what we want. Sometimes we have to wait. Sometimes we go without it. Sometimes when we DO get what we wanted it looks different than how we imagined it would. AND IT’S OK. We’re ok. The world keeps turning! That’s a huge lesson and a valuable one. Practice “pushing the snooze button” on wants. Enlist their help. “I understand you want ____. Would this be something you could snooze or do without?”


5, 10, 20



Failures are part of life. Feel free to fail. But behave with honor. Never do anything to tarnish your good name.


14, 18



It’s possible (even common) to feel conflicting emotions simultaneously. You can be glad you’re not with a girl and still be jealous if she finds a new love. You can be glad you’ve moved on and still miss what once was. You can be sad that something happened and grateful for something that came of it. Humans are complex. Two or more conflicting thoughts can exist in our heads at once. It’s not a betrayal or a character flaw.


17



Talk about how to be a good houseguest: Always bring something (food, wine, gift, etc) Make your bed, keep area clean. Enthusiastically accept your host’s hospitality but don’t make extra work for them. Contribute and pitch in where u can. Send a thank you note - or at very least, an email!


18



Share a few of our most embarrassing moments. Teach them it’s okay to laugh at yourself and even when you’re mortified in the moment being embarrassed isn’t fatal. (And it happens to everyone.)


11



Great article on making math fun: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/how-to-get-reluctant-children-to-embrace-math/2014/03/04/4be99e46-959d-11e3-8461-8a24c7bf0653_story.html


6



If it makes you happy it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else.


11, 14, 20



Bring Christmas cookies to local fire station and police station. (Annually)


6



1

Check into Brilliant.org for STEM activities.


12



Sometimes when you win, you lose. And when you lose, you win. Meaning that sometimes when you get what you want it doesn’t work out well. And sometimes wonderful things happen as a result of a failure or disappointment. Chin up. There’s a million paths to happiness and fulfillment. If one doesn’t work out your will find another.


12, 21



Summer concerts at Wolftrap- get good seats so they can really get a sense of the experience.


13-16



“If the pain was deep you will have to let it go many times.” Yung Pueblo from book Lighter


15, 18, 21



Sometimes you don’t know what to do, can’t figure out what’s the right direction for you. That’s okay. Try thinking about what you *don’t* want to do. (See John Cusack career plans speech in 1989 movie “Say Anything.”


11, 16, 19, 21



Replace “but” with “and.” “I love you but...” Becomes “I love you and that’s why...” etc.


9



Remind them they’re safe to feel whatever they’re feeling.


2, 12, 21



Sponsor a child in a developing country. Write letters, learn about their country and their life.


8



Try using “No doesn’t tell me your needs” when toddler / little kid disobeys. “Were you trying to be funny? Do you need a minute?”


3



No absolute restrictions on food but stress that some foods are “party food.” Chips, for example. (I love potato chips!)


4



Just show up. That’s all we can really control. Show up, (don’t run) and take it from there. You got this.


21



I love the quote “The call towards authenticity is sacred” by Paula S. Williams I think it means that a few things: Being called. We are called by something higher to grow and stretch, to evolve. That evolution is a journey that should be undertaken with humility, compassion and love. To impede one’s quest to be authentic, be it our own or another’s, is a grave injustice and should be avoided at all cost.


13, 15, 21



Be open to the possibility that you might be wrong.


12, 14, 17, 21



It matters more “how” you go to college than “where” you go to college.


16



Give book "50 Things Every Young Lady Should Know" by Kay West.


14



Walk up the Washington monument. No elevator!


11



Just let them be who they are. Enjoy getting to know them.


1-21



When backing up a trailer, put your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel and move the steering wheel in the direction you want the trailer to go.


19