Tag Archive for: wisdom

Making Marriage Work

In honor of the fact that JoAnn and I are celebrating our thirty-seventh wedding anniversary this week, I thought I’d reflect a little on what I think has allowed our relationship to survive. People express their understandings of a marriage…

Trickle Down Parenting

When my wife JoAnn was pregnant with Emily, our fourth child, my mother decided that JoAnn needed a “day off.” She invited our family (three boys, ages fifteen, twelve and, six plus our newborn) and my sister’s family to meet her for dinner…

Keeping Thanks in Your Thanksgiving – 10 Simple Ideas

Louis C.K. jokes that airline passengers often complain about slow Internet while sitting in a tube hurtling through the sky at 400 miles per hour. I am often frustrated by bad cell coverage, when 20 years ago I couldn't call anyone from the…

The Kid Pro Quo

According to Merriam Webster Online, a quid pro quo is “something that is given to you or done for you in return for something you have given to or done for someone else.” I believe in the Kid Pro Quo, which I define as “something that…

PUPdate #1

A lot can happen in a week.   Although the puppy has had her share of “accidents,” all in all she’s doing a very good job of being a puppy; chewing on things, fighting imaginary foes, running in circles – all the regular stuff. JoAnn’s…

Confessions of a Former Spanker

Many important issues are raised by the abuse Adrian Peterson, of the Minnesota Vikings, administered to his son.  Although there is absolutely NO justification for Peterson’s behavior, and he has been arrested on a felony charge, there are…

Parenting the Puppy

We had plans to go out tomorrow night, but those have been cancelled. We’ve been binge watching TV lately, but now we’re too tired. It’s been two days since we got…the puppy! She’s a Golden Retriever.  She’s ten weeks old.  She’s…

Raising Kids in a Modern Family

If I could tell parents one thing, I would caution against thinking or emoting on behalf of their children. I would tell them that their young children don’t care if they are a working mom, or a stay at home dad, or a traveling salesperson.…

Harmony at Home

Imagine a group of musicians each playing a different song, in a different key at a different tempo. It would be chaos – and it would sound terrible. Now imagine a family like that. If you’ve ever played, sung, or performed musically…

Teaching Tolerance

When we were newlyweds ourselves, JoAnn and I were often successful matchmakers. We had one friend in particular - a talented, smart, and handsome co-worker of mine named Phil -- who was very eligible and very single.  I was pretty direct with…