what happened to common sense

com·mon sense kämən ˈsens/

noun         good sense and sound judgment in practical matters.

so im going to start with this - lets just agree to disagree.  because we are going to.  there are about 15 different sides to this argument and they all have valid points. but until we can agree to actually LISTEN to each other, we are doomed to keep witnessing these horrific mass shootings.

and if we are honest - there isnt one answer.  we ALL share the blame.  its just that its so much easier to blame someone else, and hold tight to our singular righteousness.  which is complete bullshit.

It is no good casting out devils. They belong to us, we must accept them and be at peace with them. ~D.H. Lawrence

i have to be honest.  until this election, i would have considered myself a moderate republican.  if i had to ascribe a "label" to myself.  and i believed that most people were "moderate" somethings.  and maybe we all are.  BUT what i am coming to learn is that most of us are MOSTLY moderate.  and then there is that ONE issue that we lose all rational sense about.  and its totally different for everyone.  and somehow that ONE issue, becomes how we define ourselves - and how others define us.

a large majority of my friends are conservatives.  religious.  gun owners. unfortunately to me now - that is how republicans are defined.  to be "conservative" in our current culture, you must be pro-life, and pro-gun.  PERIOD.  and believe that the word liberal is somehow synonymous with "ax murderer".  i read a post from a friend that was a complete indictment on how liberals want to CONVERT everyone to their beliefs.  and to me, that is the crux of the problem.  we are villifying the "other side".

There are truths on this side of the Pyrénées, which are falsehoods on the other. ~Blaise Pascal

who decided that there were only two sides?  and why do YOU get to tell me which side im on?  let me voice a few opinions - from what i think are the middle of the road:

I think owning guns is your right.  To defend yourself, certainly.  To hunt for sport, sure.  Am i a fan?  absolutely not.  Do i own a gun?  nope.  But i am 100% behind your right to do so.   However, do i think you have the right to own an assault weapon?  absolutely not.  just because they make these really cool guns that experts developed to help us win WARS, doesnt mean they are appropriate for the general population.  Im not allowed to drive a tank down the street.  its the same thing.  they are safer for ME and MY FAMILY.  just because you dont own one, doesnt mean it should restrict my ability to drive one.  who cares that it negatively impacts YOU.  MY rights supercede YOURS IN ALL THINGS, right?

It's not the bullet with my name on it that worries me.  It's the one that says "To whom it may concern."  ~Anonymous Belfast resident, quoted in London Guardian, 1991

I'm totally pro-choice.  Your body is YOURS.  Do i personally support abortion?  you bet i do.  you know why?  if you cant afford a baby, or honestly dont want one - DONT HAVE ONE.  but deni, what about those innocent lives?  dont they have a choice?  NO.  they don't.  i mean in an ideal world, sure.  but how many children go hungry in our country today?  how many kids are not adopted?  how many children are living in horrible conditions, or on the street?  how many are growing up in abject poverty?  until we are willing to solve those problems, and guarantee that ALL children will be safe, and well taken care of, no one gets to mandate their birth.  is that callous?  inhumane?  im not sure.  but i dont believe its any more inhumane than making a woman give birth to an unwanted child?

Society does not need more children; but it does need more loved children. Quite literally, we cannot afford unloved children — but we pay heavily for them every day. There should not be the slightest communal concern when a woman elects to destroy the life of her thousandth-of-an-ounce embryo. But all society should rise up in alarm when it hears that a baby that is not wanted is about to be born. ~Garrett Hardin (1915–2003)

which leads me to bad parenting.  we all want to blame those damn "bad" parents for all of societies problems.  "when i was a kid" we got spanked blah blah BLAH.  well bully for you all.  i'm glad YOUR children are perfect. im sure NONE of them is ever going to grow up to be a school shooter. right?  i mean, who RAISES those kids anyway?  isnt there like, a parenting class we all have to take or something?  you know, like drivers ed, except for raising kids.  no?  so we all are just doing the best we can?  that doesnt seem like a very good system.  i mean, are you a bad parent if your kids know how to handle weapons? or are you a good parent?  this is where the confusion lies.  are you a good parent for sending your kid to private school?  or are you shielding them from reality?  see where i'm going with this?  maybe you  just have a bad kid.  WHAT did you say, deni?  a "bad" kid - how dare you?  is it your fault, or is it his fault?  it has to be someones FAULT, right?

What's done to children, they will do to society. ~Karl Menninger

wait, its the video games.  and the movies.  PORN - that's it.  society is bad.  my kids dont stand a chance.  i am a great parent, but school is responsible. or tv.  i'm not sure, i just know its not me.  im digressing, but are you starting to see the point?  there are literally 400million different ways to look at all of these issues.  and until we remove the filter of "ME", then we are doomed.

life is not one single issue.  we have to stop voting our lives away as if it is.  if you are pro-life, but believe in an assault weapons ban (which i think you probably SHOULD if you are pro life and all), then start asking tougher questions when you vote.  and maybe start asking yourself some harder questions.  do you want to send your kid to a school where all the teachers are armed, so that you can restrict someone elses rights to choice?  and if so, how is that different from me wanting to restrict YOUR right to own an assault weapon?  is it different?

If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. 

~Abraham Maslow

im not sure how we lost our way.  innocent lives are being lost every single day.  to gun violence.  to cancer. to poverty.  there is more than ONE issue that needs to be addressed.  trying to find a single, one size fits all answer is impossible.  everyone needs to bend.   we cant blame everyone else.  WE are to blame.  all of us.  for constantly choosing sides.  for always wanting to fight.  for not listening when someone else speaks.

this is my version of "see something, say something".  peoples rights are going to be infringed on in small ways.  they already are. i cant buy sudafed without a license.  i cant drive without a seatbelt.  i cant buy drugs, even if they help me.  my kids cant buy alchohol, or cigarettes or lottery tickets - because somewhere along the lines, we decided these things were bad for them.  but you know what they can buy?  lots and lots of guns.  i dont see the logic in that.  call me crazy.

its time for change.  id like to think we can do it together.  you give a little. i give a little. and we reach a place where we start to find some common ground.  keep your guns, give me the assault weapons.  keep my choice, but ban late term abortions.  stop worrying about who marries who, and worry about who you marry.  you can keep your rights, and i can keep mine.  yours dont preclude mine, and vice versa.  we need to stop letting people pit us against each other.

Won't you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you. 

~Richard Brinsley Sheridan

do me a favor.  ask your friends how they honestly feel about different things.  do they care about assault weapons?  do they care about abortion?  how about gay marriage?  these are the single issues we are voting on.  and its dragging us all down a path where we cant join together to find real solutions to the BIG problems.  we have a mental health crisis in our country.  an opioid epidemic crippling communities. we have crumbling infrastructure, and serious military challenges across the world.  and yet, here we are, still just pointing the finger at each other.

im encouraged by the high school movement.  im so glad to see them engaged in the conversation.  they are asking hard questions, and expecting answers. without the politics.  most of them dont even identify yet.  they are PRE label americans.  and we could all learn a lot from them.

I brought children into this dark world because it needed the light that only a child can bring. ~Liz Armbruster

roxy

i'm allergic to cats.  let me just start there.  which makes my story both ridiculous and ridiculously sad at the same time.  today we had to euthanize our cat, roxy.  which is awful.  as im sure that anyone who has ever had to go thru that knows.  but was especially hard for me.  and probably my husband, altho he may not admit it.  and this is why...

roxy lived in our bedroom.  her entire existence for the last several years has been spent in our yard (or various wooded areas) and my bedroom.  which is wildly weird, as i am completely allergic to her.  this is my life.

and i am just so sad about the prospect of going into my bedroom and her not being there.  when i should be at least a little happy that i no longer have to sleep with my bathroom window open.  you see, once we adopted bruno - our 3rd and chippiest dog, roxy no longer had free roam of the house.  our solution to this constant chaos was to put her in our room, close the door and open the bathroom window.  it was supposed to be a short term solution, until bruno and roxy figured it out.  they never did.  so for the last 4 years or so, my bathroom window has been open - day and night, rain or shine, hot or cold.  so the cat could come and go.  we are the biggest suckers on the planet.  but this was our reality.

over the years, we have had a couple of birds and lots of moles dragged thru that window.  which is always pretty awful. most recently, roxy dragged a baby bunny up onto the roof, into the window and plopped down in the middle of our bedroom floor.  SUPER gross.  and always an adventure.  probably one of my very favorite stories involves a BAT (yes, that kind) that ended up in the house - and the "bayer bat hunters" were born.  we have had a ridiculous amount of craziness that has ensued because of that stupid open bathroom window.   on a daily basis i would close the window for literally 10 minutes to shower, and roxy would invariably jump onto the sill and stare at me until i opened it.  she hated when i closed the window.

the other really interesting thing about roxy is that she was mostly an outdoor cat.  except she slept in our room every night.  she loved our cushy comforter and needed attention as soon as we laid down.  this is where my allergies got fun.  its almost like she knew i couldnt pick her up or my face would explode.  so she walked all over me.  i used my blanket to pet her.  and took an awful lot of benadryl.  and counted on kris to rescue me when she absolutely needed a snuggle.  we got in the habit of sending each other roxy pics.  because if she was inside, she was with one of us.  you couldnt lay down or shower or go to the bathroom without her.  it was her little world and we were just living in it.

the irony is i would say i am definitely a dog person.  we rescued roxy from a bad storm 11 years ago - she was literally climbing up our screen door while we were eating dinner.  we let her in, fed her, and she never left.  we never intentionally set out to get a cat.  it was more like she adopted us.  and i guess i always felt that way.  we were lucky that she chose us to hang out with.  and she was part of our crazy mashed up 3 boys 3 dogs and a cat family configuration.  a part of our story, as it were.

its funny the changes you make without even realizing it.  kris kept cat treats in his car, because roxy liked to great you when you pulled up.  we ended up with a litter box and a cat tree in our bathroom, along with the open window, when she started to spend more time inside.  we knew she wasnt doing great.  she got really skinny.  she hung out more.  but still, you always think you have more time. i really just wasnt prepared.

in the back of my mind, i always thought that one day i would be able to close my bathroom window.  i guess i never really put too much thought into WHY that would be.  and along with all of the other oh my god moments of our kids growing up, the passing of time hit me hard today.  josh was FIVE when roxy decided to grace us with her presence.  she has been here thru it all.  a constant presence that greeted us when we got home, and cozied up for bedtime. and im going to miss her.  she was unique.  a truly once in a lifetime pet.  i know that we will never have another cat.  or a five year old that convinces us to keep one.

time marches on.  i know that this is a natural part of life.  it doesnt make it any easier.  and im pretty sure there are plenty of people out there who think she was just a pet.  and she was.  i understand that. but she was a part of my family. and somehow she has come to represent the end of that span of time that you blink and miss.  how did 11 years pass so quickly?  i can only hope she was happy she picked us.  we were lucky she chose to pass the time with us, open window and all.  rip rox

rules of the road

jake said i should just repost the blog i wrote when he got his license.  which is pretty funny - i mean, why not just save the time.  but as i've recently noted, i am not quite the same parent i was a mere 6 years ago.  so i think new perspective is required.  after all, my BABY just got his real, big boy, drivers license!!!

which means, among other things, that i am officially OLD!  with the capital O.

when your first kid gets their license, you are a nervous wreck....that part never changes.  but, like so many other things, by the time the 3rd kid rolls around, you know SO MUCH MORE - and therefore worry exponentially.  by this time, we have seen and heard of so many teen accidents.  the heartbreaking fatal ones. the scary fender benders - and everything in between.  and while i realize that accidents happen, it just seems like NOW there are so many more challenges to staying safe on the roads.

so, into this crazy, tumultuous, distraction-filled environment, i send forth my last little boy - with these thoughts:

Err on the side of caution.  if you arent sure if you can make it, don't even try.  if you are not sure if you should stop or not, you should.  if there is even a sliver of doubt in your mind, play it safe.  driving is NOT an area where you should be a risk-taker.

One moment of patience may ward off great disaster.  One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.  ~Chinese Proverb

Better late than never. i know that being late is considered rude.  and i know your coach threatens you if you arent on time.  i know i even get mad when you keep me waiting.  and now that you are driving yourself - I DONT CARE.  it takes time to figure out how long it will take to get places.  ideally, you will leave early.  realistically, you wont.  you are a teenager.  who hasnt yet learned all of the life skills necessary to navigate around all the things life throws at you.  so until you have it all figured out, just be late.  do not try to "make up time" by driving faster - or taking chances.  just get there when you get there - in one piece.

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.  ~John Quincy Adams

Road rage is stupid.  We are an angry society.  full of people who are constantly in a hurry.  who think their time is somehow more valuable than yours.  they will honk at you, tailgate you, swerve too close, flash their lights at you - and occasionally pull up next to you to flip you off.  these people are assholes.  who are only making themselves more miserable by being mad at something they have absolutely ZERO control over.  dont be one of them.  getting mad while you are driving serves no purpose.  all you can control is your attitude.  stay calm and let the jerks go on their not so merry way.

People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing. ~Will Rogers

Be patient.  i know this is a tough one for you.  me too.  but all different kinds of people are out there driving.  including your grandparents.  and MINE.  there are about a zillion very old people who still meander down the road.  and there are tons of kids like you - who are learning.  everyone drives at different speeds and with large variations of caution.  if you are stuck behind a nice little old lady going 30, just be patient with her.  you will both get where you are going eventually.  and none the worse for wear.

Adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Stay FOCUSED.  yes, im talking about your phone. but im also talking about your music, your passengers (in 5 months!) and the food i am sure you will have in your car.  It only take ONE SECOND for things to change.  for someone in front of you to slam on their brakes. for a deer or a squirrel to run out in front of you.  for someone else to be texting and driving and not see you.  it is your number one job to pay attention THE ENTIRE TIME you are driving.  there is absolutely nothing happening in your car that is more important than what is going on outside of it.  if you need to answer your phone, or change your playlist - PULL OVER.  again, i would always rather you take the extra time and be late and SAFE - than try to multitask and get hurt.  its just not worth it.

A tree never hits an automobile except in self defense. ~American Proverb

Consider the consequences.  You probably think the worst thing that can happen is for you to get in an accident.  and that is certainly a worry.  but imagine that you hurt someone else.  badly.  is there anything happening on your phone that would be worth you having to explain to someone how sorry you are that you hurt their family.  or worse.  what you do in your car has ripple effects on so many different people. your family and friends, who dont want anything to happen to you.  and those same family and friends of every single other person on the road.  even the little old lady you are stuck behind. you not only have the potential to hurt yourself - but each of them as well.  so take extra care, always.

Better a thousand times careful than once dead. ~Proverb

Driving is a huge responsibility.  You are saying to every single other person on the road that you are responsible enough to take care with your life, and with theirs.  Don't ever take that lightly.  I have all the faith in the world in you.  Take that with you every single time you get behind the wheel.  After all, you are carrying my most precious cargo with you.

driving to the bus stop

Mother is a verb, not a noun. ~Proverb

at this point in my life, almost everything is a "last".  i envy all the young moms posting pictures of kindergarten with cute signs, because i know how many awesome, busy and even stressful times they have in their future.  and while you are living it, it's can be very hard.  but once you are through it, you just MISS it.

She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn’t take them along. ~Margaret Culkin Banning

its been a running joke in my house for years that i drive my kid(s) to the bus stop.  mostly josh for the last 6 or so.  but starting way back in nursery school, when i drove them to school, i have ALWAYS taken my kids somewhere in the morning (you know, unless i overslept :)  and today, 16 years later, was very likely my last drop off.  or at least last "regular" drop off, as i'm sure we will oversleep once or twice over the next year or so.  but this morning, on josh's first day of his sophomore year, he had to take the bus.  just so that we know what his bus number is (in case of emergency or his ride falling thru, whichever comes first).

why do i still drive my teenager to the bus stop you might ask? its a question that plagues everyone in my house - except the teenager who doesnt have to actually walk to the bus stop.  he enjoys it - i think.  but this is my reality - or rationale, depending on who you ask.  what  i have come to believe over the last 21 years is this - my kids are going to be ok.  they are going to figure things out for themselves.  josh is perfectly capable of getting his almost 16 year old self  to the bus.  BUT.  what these 10 minute intervals have come to mean to me, and them, is that they are still my priority.  it gives us 10 minutes to do a check in.  what do you have going on?  do you have all of your stuff?  how are you feeling?  its basically a gut-check for both of us.  as silly as that may seem.

Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed. ~Linda Wooten

life is busy.  my jobs change.  our schedules change, especially in the evening.  but what never changes, at least for a few more years, is our morning.  since pre-k at ANS, we have had to get ourselves out of the door by 7am.   luckily for me, the older the boys got, the later i had to get up.  most days i literally roll out of bed, stumble downstairs, grab my coffee, shove my feet in my uggs and walk out to my car...4 minutes TOPS from my feet hitting the floor to the car.  i drive 45 seconds around the corner to the bus. and sit with josh for anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes, depending on what time i actually walked out of the house.  and no matter whether it is 30 seconds or 10 minutes, it starts the day right.  i have learned more about my kids sitting at the bus stop than i can possibly tell you.  its like our magic cone of silence.  its like the boys know they dont have much time, so it cant be one of those long drawn out conversations i suck them into.  its a max 10 minute window.  so we problem solve quickly.  or just shoot the shit.  sometimes we dont really talk at all.  but that also gives me a little glimpse into where they are.  sad, tired, grumpy.  it all means something.  and it helps me figure out how to be a better mom.  and today, might be the last time i got to do this.  and im completely flustered by the prospect of it.

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself. ~Joyce Maynard

i dont think all of the sudden josh and i will stop talking.  but i dont want to lose that time with him.  i'm sure jake and luke would say, well you didnt drive US to the bus stop in high school and we are just fine.  logically i know this argument.  and i didnt.  jake rode with a friend, luke rode with jake.  but i still was up.  josh was in middle school.  i took HIM to the bus, so we all had that morning check in.  maybe i'm over estimating what it all means.  which wouldnt be the first time.  but it has occurred to me lately that the next kindergarten picture i take will be of my GRANDCHILD.  who hopefully will not be making an appearance for SEVERAL more years.  but this is the stage of life that i am in. and its just fucking NUTS.  i literally feel like i blinked my eyeballs and had 3 grown men in my house.  which is not to say i didnt enjoy the journey.  i did.  i cant say i loved every second of it.  it was very stressful at times.  it still is.  but it has just been so incredible to get to be the mom to these amazing boys.  and i miss them being little and needing me.  not that i dont think they still need me.  i know they do.  but its different.  and just a little bit sad.

so while all the moms of elementary school kids are throwing themselves a party today, a lot of the moms of high schoolers are sad.  we are on the downhill side of the craziness that is "school".  and while i will never be sorry to say goodbye to the science fair.  or filling out back to school forms.  i will be so sorry when i no longer have to get up at 6:45.  or 6:55. maybe 7:15.  i think.  i guess its just another evolution that i will learn to live with.  life is funny that way.  it just keeps throwing curveballs.  today im still lucky.  i am still back to school shopping, lunch packing, and joshs main form of transportation.  not for too much longer, but right now i will take it.  and im sure, even tho today was "supposed to be" our last bus stop trip, i'm pretty sure we will make that trip once or twice more. and i cant wait.

A child enters your home and for the next twenty years makes so much noise you can hardly stand it. The child departs, leaving the house so silent you think you are going mad. ~John Andrew Holmes

if you are a mom of a elementary school kid who feels like tearing her hair out, all i can say is, one day you will miss it.  i know it doesnt make any sense. because in that moment you literally can not wait for your kids to be out of "that" stage - whatever it is.  but when you look back, you are going to wish it didnt go by so fast.  enjoy your day of freedom today.  and then take a deep breath.  the next time you blink, you will be me, missing your messy, crazy, chaotic lives.

Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. It is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.     Mitch Albom

why 21 is better than 20

The art of love... is largely the art of persistence. ~Albert Ellis

i can remember the year my parents celebrated their 25th anniversary.  we had a nice party and my sisters and i put together a crazy video/picture project that included home movies (reel to reel, no less), some audio recordings and a ton of really old photos that we gathered from just about everywhere.  it was a super cool VHS when we were finished, and i think we were all pretty proud of it.  what i KNOW we were impressed with, was what i took to stay together that long.  my parents are incredibly different. and i never really got what it was that kept them hanging in there all those years.  aside from the fact that they were committed to each other.  and stubborn, i guess.

Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame. ~Henry David Thoreau

as i celebrate 21 years tomorrow, i realize that i'm just now starting to get it.  20 years seemed like the big milestone in my mind.  but really, 21 years is where i really am figuring it out.  which is totally crazy.  my marriage is not perfect, by any means.  it has been pretty typical i would guess for a couple that met in college and had kids really young.  lots of ups and downs.  luckily a lot more ups than downs.  but it has not been a bed of sunshine and roses.  i have made mistakes.  some pretty big ones.  and i imagine kris feels the same way.  we both have been selfish at times and put what we wanted over what was best for us.  we have had a million ridiculous fights over things that did not matter one single bit in the long run.  but we are still here. together.

Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. ~Emily Kimbrough

i think i used to believe, like with everything in life, there was a magic place or number that i just needed to reach.  once i got "there",  it would all be easier, or make more sense.  i just needed to keep it together long enough to reach it.  what i learned this year, was that i'm already there.  i probably have been for awhile.  i just didnt know it.

Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. ~Swedish Proverb

nothing has changed this year.  not one thing.  every single thing we used to fight over is still here. tuition payments, lacrosse, the boys, the gym, softball, housework - you name it.  all the petty crap that filters into our day to day will always be here.  what happened to me in this last year was that i FINALLY stopped expecting it to.  maybe its because i can see so clearly in the boys as they get older that "wishing" thing in action.  if only i get......, then i will be ok.  that path is the one that leads to discontent.  maybe there is something to the older and wiser thing after all.

its interesting to me that this is the first year i wasnt trying to reach any kind of milestone.  i wasnt anticipating my 20th anniversary.  or waiting to get a new job.  or wishing for kris to be less involved in cclc.  aside from jake turning 21 (which was super fun btw), this is just another year for us.  and in not anticipating these big giant things to happen, what DID happen was that i found this really cool place. i'm calling it "there".

No road is long with good company. ~Turkish Proverb

what "there" means to me is that i have a great life.  and i'm finally present for it.  yes, bad things happen.  i fight with my husband and my kids.  im still bitchy when i feel like it.  i still work 2 jobs.  all the stuff that used to drive me crazy.  and now it just doesn't.  which is so amazingly freeing.  because at the end of the day i have kids i've done my best to raise.  they arent perfect.  but i love them just the way they are - flaws and all.  and i'm lucky enough to still have their dad as my best friend.  we dont like to do the same things.  we dont like to watch the same shows (except GoT).  we have completely different senses of humor.  he is a neat freak and i'm a slob.  he is lax and im baseball.  and its totally FINE that we are different.  its this COMPLEMENT of personality that makes it work.

"We are shaped and fashioned by those we love." — Geothe​

i have finally, 21 years later, stopped expecting kris to change.  and vice versa.  i will always be totally ocd and going in a million directions.  my house will always be a mess.  i will take on too many projects and spread myself too thin.  and he will always work for afma.  he will always coach lacrosse and totally ignore me during the season.  and he will always hide in the bathroom (boys!). BUT.  and heres the big thing.....he will always have my back and i his.  he will always stand with me in support of my boys.  and he will always support me, even when he doesnt really want to - and i him.  and he will always always be happy to sit on the beach with me.  in that we are totally, 100% copacetic.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

and THAT is what has made 21 so much better than 20.  this seems like the best place i could be.  the small stuff is easier to get over.  the big stuff seems more manageable.  because the rest of my life only gets shorter at this point.  the years we have left together very well could be shorter than the ones behind us.  i honestly dont regret anything about our lives together because it got us to this exact point.  and this point, HERE, is truly the very best place i could be.

If there is a day to act on the Love in your soul it is today, it is this moment. ~Mike Dolan

i love you kb.  thanks for putting up with all the crazy for the last 21.  and here's to hoping the next 21 are just as crazy :).

21 lessons

“A man does what he must -- in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures -- and that is the basis of all human morality.” 

John Kennedy

another milestone.  21.  its a biggie.  at 18 you send your kids out into the world hoping that you have done a good job of teaching them how to take care of themselves.  whether that is in school or at work, you just hope they know how to get wherever they need to go on time - and that they have their keys and wallet when they get there.  21 is a bit different.  by this time, they have navigated some of those waters (hopefully with success) and the next step on their journey is a bit more meaningful - and harder.  they just dont know it yet.  so on the eve of Jake's 21st birthday, i am going back to the basics....here are 21 lessons to kick off this next step of the journey.

Jake,
1. dont drink & drive.  it seems the most obvious on this day.  but its a serious thing.  you will think you are ok after a couple of beers.  you aren't.  this isnt college.  not only should you be concerned about hurting yourself, but you should be terrified of hurting someone else.  if you plan to drink when you are out - take a cab.  call uber (thank god for that lovely new company).  call your mom.  just dont get behind the wheel.  NOTHING good comes from that.

See Dick drink. See Dick drive. See Dick die. Don't be a Dick. 

2. use your head.  you are a smart cookie.  think stuff out.  walk down the path in your mind.  cause and effect.  dont jump blindly into things that you are not sure of.  if you cant make sense of something - LEARN more about it.  thats what all those brains are for.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” Dr Seuss

3. follow your heart.  these are often contradictory.  but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.  you are compassionate and sensitive.  let those qualities guide you.  you may occasionally get taken advantage of. but you will also make a lasting impact on those around you.  if it feels right, do it.

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

4. do good.  i love this one.  i want you to do good in life.  succeed at your job and with your family.  but i also want you to reach outside of yourself and DO GOOD.  for the world.  or the earth. or both.  its going to take smart men who take these things seriously to make big changes.  be one of those guys.

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” John Wesley

5. seek opinions.  you dont know everything. yet.  ask for people with more experience than you.  or just DIFFERENT experience.  your perspective comes from your life experiences.  and there are a lot of different ways to go out there.  it never hurts to get more than one point of view.  be open-minded.  thats never ever a bad thing.

Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk. ~Doug Larson

6. value what others bring to the table.  you are not going to be great at everything. you can always bring your best, but sometimes your best wont be as good as someone elses.  and thats fine.  if you learn to work with others, and are not threatened by their gifts, you have already won the battle.  true leaders bring people together.  they create teams whose talents compliment each other.  do THAT.

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent. ~John Donne

7. take care of your body.  you only get one of those.  sometimes you wont want to eat right or work out.  and thats ok.  as long as its temporary.  if you look at fitness as a lifelong endeavor, it will be one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.  dont take your good health for granted.  make yourself a priority NOW - not later, when the damage is done.

To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. - Buddha

8. find humor whenever you can.  if you can learn to laugh at the situation, rather than get angry, you will lead a much happier life.  shit happens.  take the time to laugh about it. never lose your love of ridiculous comedy.  never stop sharing it with your brothers.  dont be offended when people laugh when you fall. it looks funny.  be okay with that.  MAD only ever makes things worse.

"A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done" - Dwight D. Eisenhower

9. dont take yourself too seriously.  you are a serious guy.  with serious plans. and that is a good thing. but remember that not everything will go your way. and you cant make it go the way you want it by sheer force of will.  you are human.  just like the rest of us. and that is ok too.

“The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month.” Fyodor Dostoevsky

10. realize you will change.  be ok with it.  in political terms we like to call it flip-flopping.  ladies just like to call it changing our mind.  but in reality, you will see things differently as you grow up. as your life circumstances change.  your priorities shift. and sometimes things that made perfect sense at 21, dont really look so great at 45. you are allowed to change your mind.  and your priorities.  you are allowed to change anything.

If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. Jim Rohn

 11.  make mistakes & learn from them.  dont be afraid to take action.  you will make bad choices.  you will have regrets.  thats just a part of life.  but if you can look back and learn from those choices, then they werent really mistakes at all.  every thing that happens to you affects the things that come after it.  they all lead you somewhere.  embrace that.

A man's mistakes are his portals of discovery. - James Joyce

12.  be kind. everyone you know is doing the best that they can.  it took me a really long time to get this one.  just because someone is doing something you disagree with, it doesnt make them bad or wrong.  it just makes them different. if you can be kind to a stranger, then you can be kind to anyone.  give your loved ones and friends the benefit of the doubt.  you can be mean in your mind if you have to.  just keep it to yourself.  nothing good ever comes from mean, either.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. ~Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

13. be open to new experiences.  step out of your box.  we like our boxes because they are comfortable.  and cozy.  dont stay there all the time. every now and then you need to do something that challenges you. whether physically or emotionally.  test your boundaries.  expand your box. the bigger your box, the more stuff that fits in it.  dont be satisfied with the status quo.
‘The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.’Arthur C. Clarke

14. eat good food.  gone are the years of ramen noodles and mac & cheese.  those are still ok. but when you have the opportunity to try new food, DO IT.  treat dining like an adventure. it will be fun AND you will learn alot in the process.  its also a super fun way to socialize, once the newness of the drinking thing wears off.

“The secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.”

 -Mark Twain

15.  take trips. if there are places you want to go see - GO SEE THEM.  the world is a cool place.  if you go one new place every year, imagine all the interesting things you will see in your lifetime. you wont love all of them.  but you will experience amazing things.  dont look back at your life and wish you would have gone somewhere.  GO.

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.”

 — John A. Shedd

16. dont wait for "one day".  one day i will.....  the biggest mistake of youth is thinking that you will always have time one day.  guess what?  this is one day. and so it tomorrow. if you dont do those things you are waiting for now, you probably never will.  life gets more complicated.  schedules get worse. jobs get harder to take time away from.  set aside some time for your bucket list.  LIVE it.  dont wait until you are too old to enjoy it.

 “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.” -W. M. Lewis

17. give of your time.  you wont always be in a position to give money.  but you can always give time.  if a cause speaks to you, try to do something about it.  you can be charitable in deed, if not financially.  one day i hope you can be charitable with your money. but that is the easy answer.  get in the trenches.  WORK for those causes that matter to you.  be present. that is how the real difference is made.

I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again. ~William Penn

18. its ok to be sad. life can be tough. and disappointing. and frustrating.  and just annoying.  you will have days when you just are not happy.  and that is OK!  you have a lot of emotions and you are supposed to feel them all.  dont bottle up feelings because you are trying to be strong.  real strength is acknowledging that sometimes we are weak.  just keep picking yourself up when you can.  and asking for help when you need it.

You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent their making a nest in your hair. - chinese proverb

19. keep your eyes on the prize.  this one you know.  life is full of distractions.  sometimes good. and sometimes not so good.  if you know the general direction you are headed, its ok to veer off course a bit. just so long as you know how to get back.  never lose sight of the big picture.

“It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau

20. learn to bounce.  life will not go the way you want it to. or expect it to.  sometimes it will be better.  but often it will feel like its worse.  but if you can learn to look around, find the lesson or opportunity and then pick yourself up, you will never be at the mercy of fate.  if you can figure out how to just say to yourself "ok this happened, what's next", you will always bounce back.

“If the wind will not serve, take to the oars." - Walt Whitman

21. sing anyway. life is hard.  which is a tough lesson at any age.  you have experienced personal frustrations and disappointments.  you have suffered loss.  those things never stop happening.  you can not let the bad things outweigh the good.  reach for those things that motivate you to move beyond the hurt and the sad and the mad.  because at the end of every day, when it is quiet in your mind, ultimately only YOU can decide what's next.  do i let it beat me.  or do i fight thru it.  you know i will always always tell you to fight the good fight.

Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.”– Emory Austin

i love you jake.  you are totally your own man and i couldnt be prouder of you.  and if nothing else comes from this, never forget lesson NUMBER ONE! happy 21 day!