Most brilliant TED talk I ever saw on living authentically. Step one: decide what you don’t give a f*ck about. Step two: don’t give a f*ck about those things. Always be kind and polite but never be sorry for not giving a $@!#% about stuff you don’t give a $@!#% about.


14, 21



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


1, 2, 3, 4



Read The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig.


4



Sometimes I think the best way to take care of them is to teach them to take care of others: Littler kids, sick or disabled, those who’ve been left out.


5-7, 1Infant-12



You’re someone’s cup of tea. I don’t mean there is only one person out there for you, I mean someone is waiting to love you exactly how you are. Stop wasting time with fools who want to change you to fit their ideal.


15, 19, 21



Water park for fifth birthday


10



It's natural to avoid change. Try to learn to accept change, embrace it if you can! Change is good. :)


15



"Surround yourself with people who trust and get YOU." - Josh Groban, High Point University 2018 commencement address. Note, I love that quote because it speaks to having a tribe, a close group of friends. But it's also important to surround yourself with people who challenge you, who may not agree with you or have the same perspective as you do.


14-19



Shirts and pants don't go into the laundry inside-out. From now on, they will be responsible for turning their laundry right-side-out. Will help instill that laundry is not done by the laundry fairy.


4



Check your ego. Often.


17, 21



It’s very easy to wander into trouble- not usually easy to wander out of it.


12



Talk about what patterns of abuse look like. Teach them to recognize red flags like love-bombing, isolating from friends and family, controlling behavior and threats of violence and/or self-harm.


14, 16, 20, 21



Do the work. No short-cuts.


14



At dinner time, go around the table and share your “highs and lows” for the day. (Re-ticket up to 21)


5



Save where you can. Spend when you have to. Splurge every once in a while.


15, 21



Let decency be like a religion to you. Practice it …but don’t preach it.


14



There IS such a thing as coming on too strong. Err on the side of leaving them wanting more.


15, 18, 21



Work Hard. Do your best. Keep your word. Never get too big for your britches. Trust in God. Have no fear


15, 21



It’s not fair to resent someone for being exactly who they are.


17, 21



Watch Ken Burns’ “The US and the holocaust.”


17



No matter how successful you become you’re still expected to act with integrity and respect.


14, 18, 21



No bragging. Don’t toot your own horn.


11, 15, 21



“Take the risks. Make the big moves, even if they’re small moves. Forge ahead with your lives in any and every direction that moves you. I’m asking you to be fearless.” - Rebecca Pearson (character from NBC tv drama ‘This Is Us’)


21



Life is like the ocean: Filled with energy, beauty, scary schit, lots of interesting creatures and so much to be in awe of. We couldn’t possibly control it but we can be a part of it.


16



Don’t worry if they’re not listening to what you say...They watch what you do. They study it.


13



Let them borrow your calm. Little ones (grownups too) sometimes just need to freak out a bit. Stay there. Be near. Don’t judge or even help. Just be there, and stay calm. Your loving energy is all they need as they work through it themselves. Keep them safe but other than that don’t help or advise unless they ask.


2-6, 17, 21



Start something new and let yourself revel in being bad at it. Paint badly, dance badly, write badly, play badly. Keep at it, and don’t let yourself get discouraged. Eventually you’ll be good at it!


15, 21



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


17



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