500 Fridays Newsletter - 2 min read Season: The Springtime (3 of 11) Your Best At Their Worst For my oldest it was 3rd.For my youngest it was 6th.For my middle child, it was 5th. Personally, I think my middle had it the worst. Given enough time at school, one year is always going to stand out from the rest as the worst year for each of your kids. The problem is, that year seems to last forever when you are in it. My son's worst year is the one I recall the most. It was full of tears, tummy...
10 days ago • 2 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Springtime (2 of 11) Big Expectations When we were raising young kids, I'll admit that I had unrealistic expectations when we spent time together as a full family of 5. It happened in small doses when we ate dinner or worked on projects around the house together. But if I had abnormal sized dreams on a regular Thursday night, they were exponentially higher when we went on family vacations. I have been accused by my wife of being too much like...
17 days ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3.5 min read Season: The Springtime (1 of 11) Tell Them The Truth As I’ve written about the power-decade over the past few years, I often ask young parent friends for relevant topics or situations. A while ago, my neighbor asked me to write about how we responded when our kids asked hard questions. It had me stumped at first, but I know that we did it. When I stopped to think about it, I realized our kids never seemed hesitant to bring hard questions. I am thankful...
24 days ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 4 min read Season: The Cold Days (12 of 12) The Dilemma "Discipline" is a complicated subject for power-decade parents. I was texting a friend the other day about the gentle parenting movement that has landed in our culture today. So many of today’s ideas are a reaction to what was broken about yesterday’s approach. While disciplining children is a polarizing topic, it is a critical part of raising kids. My wife and I were young parents and both came from families...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2 min read Season: The Cold Days (11 of 12) A "Figure It Out" Family Our kids heard me say it in our home more times than I can count…. you go figure it out. It was used less when they were little, but with each year they grew older, they heard it more and more. I know they grew tired of it, and I'm certain I said it with the wrong tone many, many times. That doesn't mean it wasn't one of the most important and staple phrases in our family, though. Have you ever...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2 min read Season: The Cold Days (10 of 12) If there's one emotion that parents don't need more of while in their power-decade season, it's shame. The feeling of pain or guilt that emerges when mom or dad realizes their family isn't measuring up. I felt it on many occasions and I reckon you have too. I remember taking my kids to the entrance of certain rides at Disney when they were little. We walked up to the board only to discover they were a few inches short of the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Cold Days (9 of 12) The Cartwheel Story Today, it is a rare sight to see a mom shopping with all of her kids hanging off the grocery cart. It doesn't happen as often today as it used to thanks to Walmart Grocery Pickup. Now, moms have been taking their kids to buy groceries forever, but some shopping sessions truly stand out. We have a family story from when our kids were 3, 6, and 7 that took the prize for us. A little background on the kinds...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2.5 min read Season: The Cold Days (8 of 12) Marriage Titles My wife and I have held several different titles in our marriage during our 20+ years together as a family. 👩🏻❤️👨🏻 First we were Husband & Wife.👶🏼 Next was our turn as Mom & Dad.🧽 For a long stretch we were Butler & Maid.🥶 We've spent some time as Friends & Enemies.📣 Recently it's been more Cheerleader & Uber Driver.👩🏻❤️👨🏻 Now we are back to a new-old stage of Husband & Wife again. As the years go by though,...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2.5 min read Season: The Cold Days (7 of 12) Parents Understand Tough Love A while back, a viral video from TikTok made its way to my FYP (my kids tell me that means For You Page) and it stopped me cold. It was of a first-time mother horse and her foal. I had no idea how powerful and deep her maternal instincts were and it was the perfect example of how parents understand tough love. In the video, the mother is gently pushing her young foal toward the electric fence....
2 months ago • 2 min read