Tales of the Ordinary Days

What road do we teach our children to take? A wise man once told me, "The world is full of takers. Our job as parents to fill the world with givers." This has always stuck with me. In the age of helicopter parents, sometimes it is too easy to lose sight of this simple goal. As parent s, ou r job is to equip our children to be good people who are productive members of our community.  Instead, we get caught up in our kids making the best select teams and getting accepted to the most prestigious universities. It is all about their personal achievement and receiving a participation ribbon. The unfortunate result is a selfish child. One who knows how to work an A and earned entry into all AP classes, but without a hint of empathy on how to spend time with an aging neighbor in early stages of dementia. A child with no sense of knowing how to drop everything and make someone else feel important. A giver. In the words of a favorite columnist of mine, John Rosemand, on...

Caption of photo: Miss Daisy Driving (Zach and my recent Vegas/Arizona road trip to visit my parents) A friend recently posted a quote that has stuck with me. "The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." - Stephen Covey Too often, I have let my schedule run my life. Not always, but more in my past than I'd like to admit. And I am not in the minority with this offense. It is more common for people to let their days run them, rather than them running their days. Priorities. This last month has been a win for me in the priority management category. There were many great times with my husband, kids, parents, friends. This feat did require planes and a lot of careful planning, but a success. Zach has turned the page to 24, Ben safely past the age of 21, and Grant a golden 17. Although my three sons live in three cities, we found a way to uniquely celebrate each April birthday. My husband finished his teaching st...