Last night, as my son was checking in to board his flight to Brazil, I had to walk away from the counter to gain my composure. I was determined not to allow him to see me shedding any tears. Tears shed only because he was leaving and I would miss him but tears shed from lamenting the current state of my own life. Do As I Say Not As I Do Don’t ... [Continue Reading]
5 Things Great Parents Do: The Lion King Way
Last night, I felt a sense of excitement and anticipation the likes of which is generally only associated with the birth of a new child. No, I am not anticipating the birth of a sibling for Supaman. However, I am anticipating seeing him for the first time in nearly two months. Having my son home for a couple days is going to be great but I ... [Continue Reading]
The Pareto Principle and Zombies
For the past few posts I've been speaking about zombies. Take a look here: Part 1 + Part 2 So as to belabor the point no longer, Zombies are all around us. In fact, without realizing it many of us have unknowingly become Zombies. What do Zombies Want? It is simple Zombies want you to become a Zombie. Why else would those you tell that you ... [Continue Reading]
A Zombie Shall Be Known by the Offspring That it Bears
Okay, so in the last post, I introduced you to Zombies. Well, more succinctly, I described the eating habits of Zombies. I know to some the description was overkill but it was done so for a good reason. How can we consider ourselves among the living when we are incapable of making nutritional decisions that could enhance the quality of life ... [Continue Reading]
Have You Seen a Zombie Recently?
The other afternoon, I received a phone call from a friend. He just finished reading the post “Life is Short and Childhood is Even Shorter” and had a question to ask. “Nate” he queried, “how do we avoid becoming Zombies?” His question appeared simple enough but was actually very thought-provoking. How do we remain amongst the living – ... [Continue Reading]
Life is Short and Childhood is Even Shorter
The other day, I was asked how we decided to allow Naeem to travel nearly 6,000 miles from home, shortly after his seventeenth birthday, not having finished high school and not knowing anyone in Porto Feliz, Brasil. I answered the question in the best way I knew how by beginning my answer with a couple of questions followed by a brief analogy. ... [Continue Reading]
The Glass is ALWAYS Some Percentage of FULL
We’ve all heard the expression “the glass is half full”. Recently, while talking to my son, I realized that the expression while having the intent to inspire might not have the effect we desire or often believe that it has. “See the glass as half full instead of half empty” sounds good but I suspect most people don’t truly interpret life and ... [Continue Reading]
Form a Single Line, Be Quiet and Keep Your Hands to Yourself
Remember when you were in your primary grades and you had to line up orderly before going anywhere? Your teacher would escort the whole class to lunch, the library, during a fire drill or to the gym. Everyone was expected to walk one behind the other in a straight line. We were expected to keep our hands to our sides and be very silent while ... [Continue Reading]
Just the Two of Us
The last seven and a half hours are among the worst moments that I can ever remember in my life. The agony began, as I walked down the dark, desolate and lonely hallway which leads from Naeem’s room to the corridor where the driver was awaiting me at 4:50 am this morning to take me to Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. The walk ... [Continue Reading]
The Second Reason That You Should Just Say No To Christmas Gifts
In my previous post I gave you the first reason to just say no to Christmas gifts. Santa Claus is not real and a make-believe character does not deserve to take the credit for all of your hard work! Well the second reason you should just say no to Christmas is that the money you spend buying depreciating goods would be better served if you used it ... [Continue Reading]