Check into Brilliant.org for STEM activities.


12



Go on a cruise


12-15



Sex talk: “Forget about sex. Just play first.” Forget about making a move and just have fun. Dance, listen to music together, go somewhere exciting, look at something beautiful, read to each other, play sports, let yourself be seen and encourage them to do the same. Communicate in a hundred ways: talk/send texts/ post on social media, pass notes, whatever. “Sex isn’t the door to intimacy


15



Read the Hobbit aloud with him. Afterward, encourage him to read The Lord of the Rings by himself.


9



Girls: does he put in the effort even when it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable for him?


16, 20, 21



Read "A Wrinkle in Time" (me too.)


10



Whatever your first knee-jerk reaction is, it’s not always the right one. Sleep on it.


14, 17, 21



Set up a 529 plan. Virginia has a great plan if you don't want to do too much research https://www.savingforcollege.com/


birth-age 3



“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



Trying to avoid the real work makes the task 100 times harder. Do the work.


9, 15, 21



Writing is thinking.


14, 17. 21



In professional setting: Limit one exclamation point per email, if any. Definitely no emoticons.


19



Fact: when you drink to excess you are significantly more likely to cause harm to someone or be harmed yourself. Being drunk means surrendering your ability to keep yourself and others safe.


12, 15, 18



Human creativity is nature manifest in us.


15, 21



Have family game nights this winter.


9



Your spouse will be absolutely unbearable roughly 10% of the time. So will you be, by the way. Give grace. Receive it too. Also, physical distance helps, even for a few hours.


21



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


16



Frustrated with school or work? It bothers you because you care or you hurt. That’s human.


14



Play this every year between 12-21. https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPd2b593U/


12, 14, 16, 21



I wish you had known my father he was such a good man gentle and loving. One early memory I have of him is that one night in our neighborhood I was hit by a bike - a boy was riding his bike and road up on the sidewalk and ran right into me. The bike hit me in the face with the handlebars and I was knocked down before I knew what happened. My father scooped me up and carried me back home. I was crying the whole time. the funny thing is I don't remember the pain, but I very clearly remember being in his arms and hearing the clip clop clip clop of his shoes. It was an after dinner walk - he was still in his suit from work and he had his loafers on and made a clip clop on the sidewalk I will never forget the feeling of being carried in his arms as he hurried back to the house to take care of me. I was in pain but I knew I would be OK. I miss him very much and I wish you knew him.


15



Summer Olympics for neighborhood kids. Create events in all kinds of sports, games and skills. Mix it up so the littler ones and the less athletically inclined have something they can succeed at too.


8-12



Kids make fun, it’s not nice but they just do. Just blow it off if kids make fun of you got something silly. They’ll drop it if they don’t get a ride out of you. ... But bullying is different. If kids are being mean, threatening or scary, tell me and your teacher.


7



Google earth app means there's always a globe at hand. Point out states, countries or oceans when we hear about them.


4-9



“I don’t give a rat’s $@!#% how much respect u garner out in the world if you don’t show respect and love and serve those you love at home.” ____loosely quoted from Glennon Doyle’s ‘Untamed.’


14, 19



Create tech-free zones and times.


10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 21



Read Admiral William McRaven’s autobiography Sea Stories.


17



Grandpa used to keep a hundred dollar bill stashed discreetly in his wallet “for emergencies.”


17



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


15-18



Participate in an exchange program - either through hosting or traveling yourself & immerse yourself in the new culture


17