Some time ago I asked my Facebook friends what their greatest parenting struggles were. This post is a response to one of those responses. Laura wrote: “Knowing when to keep the reigns tight or let them step out on their own a little is another issue we struggle with.” As much as we don’t want to admit it, our kids are growing up. Sometimes it seems like they get taller while they sleep. Even more importantly, they are growing in maturity. Some are doing this slower than others, but they are growing up. The struggle that Laura mentions is something even parent has to struggle with. This comes down to a question of responsibility. The amount to freedom you give…
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3 Things I Learn From The Death of a Young Coworker
Recently I received news that a woman I had worked with for several years passed away. Her death was unexpected. It’s always shocking to hear that someone you know has died. In this case it was even more shocking cause she was only 39 years old. In a couple months I’ll be 43. She was younger than me and now she is gone. As is often the case in times like this I found myself reflecting on a variety of things. I thought about my own life, my career, my family, and my relationships. As I did, there were three things that really stood out. Here are 3 things I learned from the death…
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Book Review: 8 simple tools for raising great kids
One thing that just about every parent has in common is that they want to be a good one. If we are honest, most of us would admit that we could be better at it than we are. That’s why there are so many books on the subject of parenting. In fact a quick search on Amazon for the term “parenting” brings up over 180,000 results. With that in mind why would we need another parenting book? How could we even know which book to buy? I certainly will not begin to tell you which of the 180,000 plus parenting books on Amazon you should buy. But, I did want to share my thoughts on a…
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Preteens and Peer Pressure
Being a preteen is HARD. Anyone that says it isn’t either had a charmed life, is lying or was home schooled. Ok, I’m just kidding about the home school thing. It’s hard for them too. But, seriously, it’s just a hard time in your life. Peer Pressure: Part of what makes middle school so hard is peer pressure. Sure this exists prior on some level in early elementary, but not to the same extent. Of course it exists in high school, but many kids have learned how to say no by that time. But, when you are 11 or 12 years old saying no to peer pressure feels impossible. I mean, what…
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Mozart and The Devil’s Music
Years ago I remember a song called “Rock Me Amadeus.” It really had quite catchy chorus. So catchy that I often found myself singing it. I honestly had not idea who Amadeus was or what the song was about. I just knew that it had a nice rhythm to it. One day, while mindlessly singing it my dad told me that I needed to stop singing that song; that it was talking about the DEVIL. Wow! I certainly did not want to be singing a song that said, “rock me Amadeus” if Amadeus was the devil. I certainly did not want to be singing the devil’s music. Amadeus is NOT the…
