When you have no idea what you’re doing, just be kind. Be brave. Think critically and make the best decisions you can in the moment. If possible, find resources to learn what you need to know. Ask for help if help is available. Do your best and don’t sweat it.


18



Paying extra for organic isn’t always worth it but I ALWAYS buy organic apples. They taste better and don’t have the pesticides, etc.


18



Make sure they have resources other than us. Hotlines for teens such as Boys Town National Hotline, National $@!#% Prevention Lifeline, etc.


12



We struggle so much when we don’t know ourselves. Are you a thinker (creative, big picture) or a doer (meticulous, task-oriented.) Both are great by the way.


16, 21



Don’t let someone have to tell you twice that they don’t want you. Nothing good comes from hanging on after that.


15, 21



Assume any email or text you send will be distributed.


12, 15



Read blog post from Parent's Corner: The Letter Your Teenager Can't Write You By Gretchen Schmelzer June 23, 2015


13-17



You may lose a relationship but you keep the love. It becomes a part of you. It changes you for the better.


15, 19, 21



Stay put, don’t wonder if lost when we hike.


2, 3, 5



YouTube Randy Pauch The Last Lecture. Watch together.


14



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


18



1

Life is hard. But it's not so hard you can't figure it out. You're going to be fine. xoxo


11-21



Curiosity is life-giving while judgement is soul-sucking. Get curious about yourself and others. Wonder why, try to understand without judging.


12, 16, 20



If they like you you’ll know. If they don’t you’ll be confused.


15, 21



“If you can’t figure something out, figure out how to figure it out.” - Paul Graham


18



Just focus on shining on your own terms. Your shine is not dependent on anyone or anything else.


15



If it makes you happy it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else.


11, 14, 20



Watch documentary The Rescue together.


15



Marriage tip: King sized blanket on Queen size bed.


21



Grandpa never wore a watch. (This was way before cell phones existed.) Still, he always knew what time it was, and he was never, ever late.


14



Talking to people you disagree with is sometimes difficult. But it doesn’t have to be. Enter every conversion assuming you have something to learn.


14, 18, 21



Life is difficult...Focus on the joy.


16, 20



Be protective, never be possessive. watch out for your friends’ well-being, their good names, that’s what friends do. But friends don’t try to manipulate someone’s feelings, thoughts or actions.Same goes for romantic relationships.


10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 21



“The beginning parts are always the scariest.” -Jackson Daily (kid reporter on Today Show.)


10, 12, 16



Give your all on the job, from your first day to your last day there. If you’re all caught up on your work help someone else with theirs.


17, 21



Grit.


14



Look for answers where truth, laughter, kindness, beauty, compassion and love are found. (Not in outward appearances or illusions of perfection. Not in cynicism, apathy or destructiveness.)


10, 13, 16, 19, 21



Set up automatic payments so they are initiated on your end, so that you send out money to the bill/ company you’re paying instead of giving them access to take money out of your account.


20



Life doesn’t need to be perfect to be beautiful.


20



Make a pound of ground beef go further by adding chopped cabbage or mushrooms.


19