Today we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr Day. It is important to not just let this day pass as a day off from school for kids. We must teach them about this hero from American History. My question is, when do we teach them about racism? My wife and I plan to talk to our small children about MLK Jr today, but we are still trying to decide when and what to tell them about civil rights, racism and hate. Anyone else out there asking this question? Up to this point our kids have been around many different cultures, fairly unaware of any differences between them and the other kids.…
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Suicide Victim
I am the victim. You left me. I am your lover, your brother, your kid, your niece, your grandchild, your friend. How could you do this? How could you cut your life short? I miss your smile. I miss laughing with you. I miss our fights. I miss our deep conversations. I miss…you. Did you not know you were loved? Did you not know I loved you? I still love you. What were you thinking? How could you be so selfish? How could you!?! What voices were you listening to? These voices lied to you. They said you were someone you were not. But you listened to them. You should…
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Men Only: Resource for Dads and Husbands
Yes, men only. So if you are a woman, please flip to the next post. 🙂 A friend on Facebook shared 10 Questions to Ask Your Wife Every Year. Great read. Guys, this is good. And don’t tell Michelle, my wife, about it. I plan to use these. Then I started looking through the AllProDad.com site. Wow! Some great resources for husbands and dads. I’m going to have to read some more of these posts! For now, I just want to recommend 10 Questions to Ask Your Wife Every Year. Read it and tell me what you think, men. Share in the comments section.
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Honor One Another
There are many things I learned from my Father, but I also missed the opportunity to learn much more from him. It is easier to see what you could have learned from someone after you don’t have them around. Believe me, I know. What better way to honor someone than to make a pivot with your current relationships. Who are some people in your life now that if they were gone, you would regret not taking advantage of learning from them? Could be someone, like my Dad, who is good at fixing stuff, or someone who you respect spiritually, or someone who is a great parent. Go ahead and think of…
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Helping My Children with Materialism, Entitlement and Stuff
My wife and I are hoping to help our kids have an appropriate view of stuff. We want them to grow up and use stuff to help people. We don’t want them to be materialistic consumers. We don’t want them to be entitled. At this point, we don’t know how to do this. Can you help? What tips and resources do you have? Please share in the comments section. Thanks.
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Missed Opportunities to Learn
I was working on my car, checking the oil, checking the air in the tires. There is not much beyond this that I know how to do when it comes to cars. I’m not too savy when it comes to fixing stuff either. I typically try the “leave-it-alone-and-see-if-the-problem-goes-away” strategy. You would be surprised how often this actually works. My Dad, on the otherhand, could fix anything. He was amazing. He could build stuff, fix cars and do electrical stuff as well. Unfortunately I did not pick this up from him. I was thinking, if I had an hour with him once a week, in addition to enjoying his company again,…
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How Do You Make a Difference as a Family?
I just read 100+ Ways for Your Family to Make a Difference from Kristen at WeAreThatFamily.com. My wife shared this on Facebook recently. It is really pratical, so I wanted to pass it onto you. Tips: 1) Today: Read it through one time and set a time to read through it again later this week. 2) Another Day: Read it through and highlight 5 options you could do and want to do in the coming weeks. Pick a day next week to make your final decision. 3) Next Week: Research (if necessary) your top 5 options and pick one that is best for you. 4) Do one thing to make…
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We Are Considering Homeschooling and Need Some Help
Our family is seriously considering homeschooling. I know, I just made half of you love us more and half think we just went off the deep end. Relax, both of you. Why are we doing this? There are many reasons why people homeschool. I have to be honest, some of you out there are a little crazy, as are your reasons. I still love you though. We have many, but our main reasons are twofold 1) We think it fits our family. 2) We want to continue pursuing our kids being bilingual (maybe tri) without paying an arm and a leg. Currently they are in a language immersion charter school…
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Happy Father’s Day Dad!
When I was about 4 years old my dad had a mustache, similar to that of Tom Selleck of Magnum, P. I., a popular television show at the time. One day we were in the checkout line at the grocery store. I looked over at the magazines and saw a picture of Tom Selleck. I pointed and said, “Look Dad, it’s you.” My dad, a little embarrassed, glanced at the other people in line then back at me. He replied, “Adam, no. That’s not me.” I responded, “Yeah, Dad. It is you.” Again he looked around and said, “Nooo, Adam. Who told you to say that?” Quickly bringing a bright red of embarrassment…
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Allowance, Spending vs. Saving, and My 4 Year Old
It has begun in the Suter home. We are giving our kids an allowance now. There is a good chance we are not doing it right, but we reserve the right to change the rules. 🙂 CJ, in particular has been excited about getting an allowance. He had saved up $7.00 and was ready to make his first purchase. He had been talking about getting a Ninja Turtle toy at the store. Before he had a chance, though, I took him to a garage sale. You know what’s about to happen don’t you? He saw a whole bag of toys for just $4.00. It had several wrestlers and a transformer.…