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


14, 18, 21



Not knowing what you’re doing is a lot less terrifying than not knowing who to trust.


14, 19, 21



"Tough times don't last. Tough people do."


11-14



When they’re upset just ask what they need: space, distraction, or talk about it.


12



Apollo 13 and The Martian Great movies about space, science, engineering, etc. Watch together.


12



My favorite version of myself is when I’m not worried about what others think of me. I


11, 13, 15, 17, 21



Don't say anything out loud that you wouldn't want repeated or overheard. Don't email / text, etc. anything that you wouldn't want forwarded.


11-15



1

Psalm 37:3 “Do good and trust in the Lord.” That pretty much covers it.


9, 15, 21



“I don’t know what I think until I write about it.” - Joan Didion


15



“Pay yourself first” means save before you spend. You never know when you’ll need to tap into savings, so build it up early and heartily.


18



IMPORTANT: If you borrow money from someone pay it back as soon as possible. In full. If you borrow an item, return it in excellent condition. I’d say if you borrow a car, return it with a full tank of gas but hopefully by the time you’re driving there won’t be any combustible engines. So return it fully charged!


12, 14, 16, 21



It's very important to me, the idea of the scale of good and bad, of beauty and suffering. I think we should do everything we can to increase the beauty and to take away from the suffering. We have to work hard to tip the scale in the direction of good.


1Infant-14



I did my best to guide you, but I’m sure there are many areas where my take is just not aligned with yours. That’s okay! Bunny please don’t feel any obligation to believe what I believe or take any advice, or continue any tradition mentioned in this Coda.


21



SAT prep https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/opinion/how-i-learned-to-take-the-sat-like-a-rich-kid.html?referer=http%253A%252F%252Fm.facebook.com%252F


16



Before a play date or sleepover ask the parent “Are there any unlocked guns in the house?”


6-9



Go to Montgomery County Fair


5-14



Give them the book Starfish by Lisa Fipps.


12, 14



Don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t take advice from.


16



Caps Game this year.


11



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


12



Face it. Whatever it is, show up with your most powerful self. Make decisions from a point of power, not fear. Sometimes the answer is to retreat, care for the injured, mourn the losses. Strategize. Prepare and then attack.


14. 15, 17, 18, 19, 21



You’re gonna be misunderstood a lot. Some people just won’t like you. It’s okay. Wish them well and let it go.


10, 13, 16, 21



Check out the Wolf Trap Children's summer theater.


4-11



Beware that when you’re first exposed to a new thing: a car, a college tour, house, etc. you will feel AMAZING and totally seduced by the shiny newness. Be cool. Remember that glitters is not gold. Things don’t need to be perfect and even if the house is it doesn’t mean life will be.


15, 18, 21



Which line of poetry would you get tattooed?


17



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


16



Compete for the last meatball at Sunday dinner: Biggest burp, telling the best story, finished vegetables first, etc.


5



“How we learn to hold what hurts shapes so much of who we are. What we choose to do with our pain defines us more than most things.“ -Chani Nicholas


11, 14, 17



"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