My best parenting advice


1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17



Misquoting someone here: “It’s not about getting everything you want, it’s about giving everything you have.” Stuff will never satisfy. Pouring yourself into something heart and soul will.


16, 21



I’m going to keep from telling them how to feel.


4-18



“ A vocation is where our anger and our joy meet.” -Sarah Bessey


16



“The next generation never learns anything from the previous one until it’s brought home like a hammer.” - Harry Truman


13, 16, 21



Home is where they love you.


13, 17, 21



When it comes to clothes and makeup, women have one dress code: whatever the f*ck they want. Hijab or bikini, it’s not women’s job to appeal to men. It’s not women’s job to keep men’s appetites subdued.


14, 17, 21



Make “good trouble” as Rep. John Lewis said. Justice is won, not given.


14, 19



Physical contact between two people is only fun / appropriate / legal / healthy if both people are into it. If one party objects, demurs or even acts less-than-interested, that’s the ballgame. Stop physical contact immediately. Be kind and respectful at all times.


15, 18



Sesame Street has great resources on teaching finances to little ones.


4-5



Golf lessons. Grampa loved golf, if he were here he would have taught you himself.


9



One of the funny/sensitive things about puberty is that kids can be the same age chronologically while being wildly varied in terms of development. Kid might be 6 feet tall in seventh grade or be a senior in high school and still not shaving. Everyone is self conscious, praying to avoid embarrassment. It’s all just part of growing up. Be kind to yourself and to your equally mortified peers.


11, 12, 13



Writing is thinking.


14, 17. 21



Parent the way you want your children to behave. Compassion, patience. Loving.


1, 2, 3, 4



Teach them about shaken baby syndrome.


13



When you’re struggling with something, you don’t know how you feel or why something is happening... Give it to the Lord. Entrust him with it. He will mold it and soften it so you’re able to process it.


19



First date going extremely well? Thinking u might score? Slow down. A woman always wants to feel like she’s worth waiting for.


20



The more you want, the less you get.


14, 16, 21



Make sure you always have Uber gift cards on hand for friends, emergencies or whatever.


15-18



Plan trip to Bush Gardens late September


5



Two instances when exercise is unhealthy: when you’re only doing it because you want to lose weight or because you’re terrified you will gain weight.


14, 18, 21



Name a few male celebrities you would feel safe with alone in a room. Keanu Reeves, Jack Black, Barack Obama, to start us off.


11, 13, 15



Have dinner guests sign the under side of the dining room table. Let the kids’ friends sign too - or have their own version of a guestbook - the inside of a cabinet or the basement door, etc.


5, 12-14



If you witness a moment of vulnerability in someone, keep it to yourself. Be respectful of people's dignity.


14-18



What does entitlement mean to you? I think it means the assumption that we are owed something simply by virtue of who we are rather than what we’ve earned.


10



Hand out tulip bulbs (or some sort of bulbs) at my funeral and ask people to plant a few in their yard. But NOT daffodils. I hate daffodils. And lilies, hate ‘em.) So tulips then.


21



Stay put, don’t wonder if lost when we hike.


2, 3, 5



One of the best things you can do for yourself is to cultivate a hobby. Anything positive/creative you can throw yourself into.


11, 13, 17, 21



Read “Attack of the Black Rectangles” by Amy Sarid King.


12



Do something that feeds your soul every day. Experience or create joy, even if just a small spark of it.


17