Water park for fifth birthday


10



You’ve been entrusted with so much. Think about how much of an honor that is, and how big a responsibility.


16, 18, 21



Don’t worry about finding your person. Focus on finding your people.


15, 21



“The Greatest Generation” by Tom Brokaw Listen to audio or read together


14



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



Plan a trip someplace where we can see the Northern Lights.


15



Go for walks together as a family before or after dinner. Sometimes we go for distance, sometimes we call them "safaris" and look for as many living creatures as we can find.


4



Theme this year: Self Control (Repeat every year until age 99)


6



Your very existence is a miracle. Countless cosmic events and generations of ancestors had to come together in precisely the right way at precisely the right time for you to be here now. It’s an honor to be who you are. Act accordingly.


13, 15, 18, 20, 21



Micro-internships. Check out Parker Dewey for ideas.


16, 17, 18



Knowing the “right choice” to make isn’t always easy. Sometimes you have to decide then go for it. Make a choice, then make it right.


17, 21



You will never be good enough for the wrong person. This truth is profound and one I wish I learned a lot earlier in my life. Stop tripping over yourself to please someone who doesn’t get you.


21



Learn to tie knots.


10



Yes, you’re beautiful. But that’s not ALL you are. And it isn’t all that’s expected of you. Surely you could “get by” on your looks. Is that what you want for yourself?


10, 15



Default to "nice guy." Meaning it should require something significant for you NOT to be nice. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Cut them (and yourself) some slack. Life is hard. We're all in this together.


12



“Fitting in” requires that we change who we are to fit someone else’s idea. True “belonging” never asks us to change who we are, it demands that we be who we are. - Brene Brown


12, 17



Highly recommend book about math and multiplication techniques:“The Best of Times” by Greg Tang.


10



If you’re going to be wrong about someone, let it be because you believed the best of them. (Give people the benefit of the doubt.) put it this way— I’d rather be wrong about my husband being a moral person who would never cheat, then come to find out he had done, than I would like to be wrong about him being a horrible person only to find out later he was faithful all along.


20, 21



Keep stuff on hand for guests. Be ready to be a good host / hostess at any moment.


16-21



1

“You belong in every room you enter.” - Shonda Rhymes


6-21



Never post a pic to social media that you wouldn't want Grandma to see. NEVER send or ask to receive naked pictures. It's tacky, gross, illegal and not worth it. Even if "everyone does it". It's rude and disrespectful.


11-13, 18



Rain, snow or sleet...Always return the shopping cart to the proper spot in the parking lot.


17



No one knows what they’re doing. Just be kind and brave and curious. You don’t have to have it figured out.


17



"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read." ~ James Baldwin


14, 19



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


12



Attend a Pride parade.


9



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


15, 21



Practice real-life mental math: Calculate time / age: If someone was born in 1994 how old are they today? Make change in your head: Cost is 14.27, how much change do you have if you give the cashier 20 bucks? Calculate percentages: tips, tax brackets, sales!!


12, 14, 20



Anyone who asks you to violate your values doesn’t deserve your allegiance.


16, 21