Consider what you value. Act accordingly.


10, 14, 17, 20



Being accountable means saying that I was responsible for making sure this did not happen - but it did happen. I accept the blame and an prepared to incur the consequences. I will work earnestly to earn back your trust and confidence. The opposite of accountability is to make excuses or blame someone else for your mistake.


10, 18



You’ll start dating soon. Have fun! Good luck. Prepare yourself for broken hearts. They come with the territory. (Worth it.) Talk about healthy ways to manage breakups and fear of breaking up.


13



Date all kinds but marry someone who loves you for who you are, with whom you feel most yourself. Someone who will encourage you to grow more into the person you want to be. (And be good at encouraging them to do same.) Never fear or stifle each other’s growth. Celebrate it. Support it. Encourage it.


21



Just for the record, I didn’t vote for Trump. I want my great-grandchildren to know that.


18



1

“You will encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” -Maya Angelou


17



Never make someone feel bad for liking something. Not your kids, your friends or colleagues. Joy is a beautiful thing. Cherish it in yourself and in others.


8, 9, 12



“All the best things in life live on the other side of fear.” - Will Smith’s grandmother.


20



Spend time with people you admire, in person and biographies, documentaries, novels and movies.


14-17, 21



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


14



Get up early on a Saturday and go downtown. See how fun it is to be up before the rest of the world.


7-9



Check out Harmonia School on Mill St Music Art Theatre


6



I once asked my mom if my grandmother (her mother in law) was rich. Her reply: “No, but she likes to think she is.” I think she meant my grandmother spent money like she had plenty of it when she really did not. Can relate. I hope you do better!


14, 21



“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” - Eleanor Roosevelt


13, 19



“People are in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Pain comes when we try to put them in the wrong category.” - random therapist I never met.


16



Train for a mini-triathlon together as a family this year.


12



Google the “tea metaphor” for a discussion about consent.


17



Go to movie Star Wars


12



They can shower themselves if you install a hand-held shower head and install a suction cup wall-mount shower head holder lower on the shower wall. It’s easy to do and very cheap. They love it!


4-6



Teach tuck to drive


15



You are a miracle. Take good care of yourself: Mind, body and soul.


21



A simple trick to calm your nerves: Name 5 things you can hear right now.


5-15



Be a safe place. Teach them to be a safe place too.


12



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.


13-17, 21



Sadness means you need love. (From another person, a pet, yourself.) Someone whose presence brings you comfort. May be dead, living, fictional, historical figure, religious (god, saints, Buddha, etc.) Live and in person is best though. Let someone love you how you need to be loved.


19, 21



A person is only as good as how they treat you when they are angry with you.


17



Read The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig.


4



The only thing that matters is love. When we live with love - for God, for others and ourselves, that is what makes life worth living.


16



Remember: “C’s get degrees.” Don’t tie yourself in knots over grades.


17, 18



Start a tradition of setting goals for Ne Year. Keep a notebook in with the Christmas ornaments and each year we all add in whatever we want to focus on: such as our resolutions, goals, hope or plans, etc. That will be something fun to do at the end of the year when we’re taking down the tree and putting away all the holiday stuff.


8