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WELCOME MAT: THERE’S MORE THAN ONE

Welcome mat? What it means: It means you’re welcome at that particular door. But you knew that. It also means it’s up to you to stay welcome. This might be new territory for some of you.

ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM KIDS

Answering questions starts early for parents. Before they can talk, baby asks questions. They are the same questions informed parents ask, beginning with: Are we ready?

KID PARTY REVIEW

If you have kids you’ve had a kid party. If you have kids and haven’t had a party, shame on you. They only turn ONE once. If you miss that, shoot for two, three, four, five. You get it?

COLLEGE DANCE IN HIGH SCHOOL, 1972

A college dance had a special allure to high school kids. We were high school homers in 1972; the college was Southwestern Oregon Community College, or: SWOCC. The campus was in Coos Bay, Oregon, a city of mystery and sawdust. I’d never been to a college dance, but I was a high school junior and […]

AMATEUR CRIME LIFE WITH PEER PRESSURE

My life in amateur crime began in 5th grade. If you were going to hang with the cool kids, you had to show you belonged. One test was shoplifting at the local Payless. It was an anchor store at Pony Village, the biggest shopping mall on the west coast between Seattle and San Francisco right […]

TAKE STRENGTH FROM YOUR COGNITION POWER

Take strength from knowing who you are. If you don’t know, or feel unsure, spend some time to think about it. But don’t be disappointed if you’re wrong. Things change, you change, we all change. Besides, if you don’t already know who you really and truly are, who does?

LOVE DEFICIT AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT

A love deficit is like any other: noun. the amount by which a sum of money falls short of the required amount. the amount by which expenditures or liabilities exceed income or assets. a lack or shortage; deficiency. a disadvantage, impairment, or handicap: The team’s major deficit is its poor pitching. A lack, shortage, or deficiency […]

SHOW OFF PARENTS RAISE FUNKY KIDS? WILL THEY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

Show off parents are not who you think they are. They are not the helicopter moms and dads everyone makes room for. Not the Tiger Moms, either. Parents that dress their kids as miniature versions of themselves don’t make the cut.

LAST CONVERSATION UNTIL NEXT YEAR

One last conversation before Father’s Day, 2023. If you have adult kids, it helps to talk to them. Based on the inspiration from one of my favorite twitter follows, it’s important. Do your kids know you better than you know your own parents?

CLOUDY DAYS TAKE A SHORT BREAK

Cloudy days in Oregon? How can that be? Where I grew up no one complained about the rain. If they did that would have been all they talked about. There’s more going on than cloudy days, but what do you do when all you see are clouds?