It’s interesting to see the personality traits in your kids that come from yourself and your spouse. It’s wonderful to see the “good” traits*, but the bad ones are of course a different story. You have lived with these bad traits, the ones you have been trying to deal with and shake off forever, and you just hate for your kids to deal with the same things.

One of the things my 7 year old deals with, and believe me she gets it honestly, is getting something in her mind and not wanting to break from it. She will get in her head something needs to be a certain way, done a certain way, etc., and gets frustrated when it isn’t so.

Over the weekend, we were on our way down tot he beach for the long weekend. The kids have been in the back with their stuffed animals behaving quite nicely (for a change). The 3 year old requests to listen to some music (growing tired of my podcasts) and I gladly turn it on. She just loves to dance and get into the groove. Well, the 7 year old is upset because it wasn’t the particular song she wanted and refused to dance. The 3 year old shouts “It doesn’t matter, just grab your puppy and dance!”

That struck me to the core, gang. While the 7 year old probably paid no attention to it, it just made perfect sense to me! I immediately made a note and have already started thinking about that quote when I get stuck in my own head.

We might just have a little philosopher on our hands.

*A GREAT trait my 7 year old took on is seeing pizza on the TV and saying to herself “Mmm, look at that pizza.”

First off, I hate the phrase “social media.” Sadly, I’m old enough to remember social media’s initial rollout with Myspace*, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Anyway, let’s get on to the main point(s) of this writing.

Of the big three, the worst is Facebook. It has pretty much always been terrible once it was open to the world. Facebook is now utterly pointless, and I legitimately don’t understand why people spend their lives on the site (ok, I do but that’s another thought for another day).

I used to have mixed feelings on Twitter. It used to be really fun to follow different people, like celebrities, as well as your friends. In some ways it was like an up to date news feed which felt exciting. Now Twitter is just miserable people being miserable together. Life’s too short. I stopped using twitter over the weekend and I already feel better about myself. This blog posts automatically to Twitter which is why this post shows up on my feed.

Instagram (for the most part) is great. It’s mainly just happy pictures of friends or celebrities and memes. There are some downsides to IG, too, but overall a useful app.

This is just part 1 of my ramblings. I’m sure there will be at least one more post about this topic.

*I never jumped on the Myspace bandwagon. I know people who did, and that’s fine, but it never spoke to me. I guess I didn’t have enough emo bands to post on the music section.

I’m a day late on this one as I was traveling most of the day yesterday.

MLK Day is an important holiday, and one I don’t think gets enough attention. We’ve all heard the quotes and know the story, but it is amazing to consider the impact this man had on a generation and generations to come.

I think about the friends I’ve made since elementary school who don’t look like me. Shows and music I enjoy filled with people who don’t look like me. Knowing that we are all the same on the inside and deserve the same treatment – this is all possible because of people like Martin Luther King Jr. standing up for what they believe in and paving the way.

This of course is a rather simplistic view through my own lens – I can’t speak for anyone else, obviously. And I know it may be trivial compared to the impact the MLK’s of the world had for generations of black people who suffered unspeakable treatment and injustices.

But I am thankful for Martin Luther King Jr. and what he believed in. And am thankful I have black folks in my life that I know and love because of people like MLK.

I’ve stepped away from the desk for a few days, hence the absence in writing yesterday. I’ll see you guys Monday…or Tuesday.

When is it too late* to start something? I used to think there was a cutoff for certain startpoints, specifically in thinking about your career or maybe a hobby such as learning an instrument.

The more I listen to and read about it, the less I think it’s too late for virtually anything. If you want to get into something, do it. Career change? Do it now. Learn to play the piano? Let’s go!

Like the Chinese proverb states: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

*Sorry if you immediately jumped to the song “Apologize” when reading that. And if your mind didn’t jump to it then, it did now.

One of the many things that stuck out to me when listening to the Beastie Boys Book was a quote Ad-Rock shared about watching this little kid run up a slide: Watch and learn.

The funny thing that everyone knows about kids is they think they know everything while knowing virtually nothing. But it’s that youthful hubris that allows kids and teenagers to accomplish some really cool things. Think about Tony Hawk. You know his old man was probably yelling at him about breaking his neck on a skateboard. His mom telling him “Your face is too pretty to scrape to heck on that concrete.” And yet he became a phenomenal skateboarder* and inspired a generation of kids.

The further you are from college/high school, the more calculated you get. The more you’re prone to factor in the what ifs. Sometimes this can be a good thing. Sometimes it can just make you a square.

And life is too short to be a square.

*And of course helped create the amazing Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game series – 3 being the best, obvi.

We’ve all heard it and we’ve all said it “Current music is terrible.” It’s been said countless times for countless decades. Turns out there’s a reason why.

It’s scientifically proven you can’t fully appreciate new music after your mid 20s. The music you hear while your brain rounds out its formation* (middle school through your mid-20s) is what you end up viewing as “the best music.” When you’re older and hear that music, your mind takes you back to your adolescence and earlier years, whether you realize it or not.

Spoiler: Kids today are going to think this crap on the radio is the best music. And then they’ll go through their own version of “current music is terrible.” And the beat goes on.

*Cue dad joke about my brain still forming and appreciating music in my 30s.

Some say they strive for perfection*. They want to be the best of the best at one or many things.

Others say they’re working to get better. They understand they need improvement and are constantly reading/learning/practicing. While they’ll never get perfect, they know they can always get better.

In the end, the goals may be the same, but the mindset is different.

*You may also be of the mindset “Practice makes perfect, but nobody’s perfect, so why practice?”

Sundays are meant to be great…and they typically are! Church, brunch, football*, family time, relaxing, planning for the week ahead – all of these can make up a Sunday. No matter what the combination, Sunday is typically a good recharge day. A time to look back at the previous week and look ahead toward the week to come. Reflect on the things that went well and work on those that went poorly to make the next week even better.

I’m ready for it. Are you?

*We’re only 2 football Sundays away from the drought. Let’s enjoy these football Sundays…and then start pining for August!

You ever get a recommendation from someone, especially a TV show, and pull the “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say” move*?

Several years ago, my mother-in-law recommended my wife and I watch “The Middle,” a sitcom on ABC. We did the “yeah, yeah, whatever you say” move and never checked it out. We then stumbled across it one night on our own and gave it a shot. It was hysterical and immediately turned into the TV show of choice in our house.

The Middle is the most accurate portrayal of family life I’ve ever seen on television. The dishwasher’s broken, the house is a mess, no one is ever ready, everyone hates to make dinner, the kids drive each other crazy, etc. I mean, at one point there was a hole in one of the kids’ rooms for an entire season. On top of being genuinely funny (and no corny jokes), it can also be very touching and heartwarming…I’ve cried more than once watching it.

This is a great filler show for after dinner, on the weekends, or any other time you want to watch TV with the whole family (or just by yourself!).

*I know, it’s 2019 and everyone has a show you “must check out.” This isn’t a “series” to binge watch forever, though. Just a solid sit-com to replace “The (very over rated) Office” in your rotation.