Nature vs. Nurture

The memory of a broken mother ever lingers in my mind as this wonderful woman mourned the apparent lost soul of her son. Such a memory seems to never leave my mind because the person in my memory is constantly changing and another mother takes center stage.

There are broken hearts all over the world as a result of children making harmful decisions. Parents who blame themselves are often overwhelmed with sorrow and shame and sadly, they share their misery with others.

Do Words Have Meaning Anymore?

Within each culture there are certain words that carry a specific meaning known only to the aborigines and veterans of that culture.

For example, in the German culture if you point to the temple on your head with your index finger, you are expressing the same sentiment in German as if you were to extend the middle finger high in the air here in the states.

In Germany, Switzerland, or Austria, if you were to ask the question: “How are you today,” be prepared to listen to an answer. Here, expect to hear one word that carries no meaning. Something like, fine.

What is Financial Coaching

Each time I visit Walt’s Auto Care on Pt. Fosdick, I have an interesting discussion with Ken Blalock, the manager. This time was no different. Ken grew up in a family of educators and when Mr. Dan Gregory the Principal of Henderson Bay was picking up his car, Ken grew nostalgic.

Mr. Gregory and Ken were conversing about the kids nowadays and Ken told a story about his childhood. One afternoon, while Ken’s mom was shopping in the grocery store, Ken and his sister were bored and decided to create a little fun.

The Four Horseman

John Gottman, PhD.  from the University of Washington has done amazing work and research on marriage over the past few decades and has identified four key problems that lead to divorce. He calls them the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.

The four problems are: criticism, defensiveness, contempt and stonewalling.

Dr. Gottman explains that contempt for a partner is the most crucial indicator of divorce. He can predict with 95% accuracy if a couple will divorce after watching them for only 15 minutes.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are a metaphor depicting the end of the world. They are described as conquest, war, hunger, and death.

Our Greatest Challenge

It is has been said that you will marry or raise your greatest challenge!

Yesterday I invited my granddaughter’s parents over to our house. Abigail, my granddaughter, is the cutest little piece of energy in existence. Just look at her!

Her dad sent me this response.

I told Heather about the discussion, and this was her reply

Let’s refer to “Abigail” as… The Monster.

The Monster only slept for an hour today.

The Monster is very grumpy.

You married Perfection

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a perfect man married a perfect woman?

I’ll wager that he would shoot her inside of a week if she didn’t strangle him first.

The story is told of a husband, who after three months of marriage, sat down to dinner with his wife and said: “I think it’s time we discussed some needed areas of improvement in our marriage. I’ll like to share a list of things you can improve on and then you can share your ideas with me.”

Puppy Dogs and Men

During a conversation with my wife the other day, Cheri commented that men are just like puppy dogs. Since I’m not fully comfortable being compared to the four-legged animal kingdom, I asked for clarification. She smiled and explained: “Dogs are pleasers. They want their masters to be happy.”

She’s right. I am a pleaser. I don’t like it when my wife is angry with me. I want to make her happy and I don’t like the doghouse. I prefer my wife’s bed, just like my dog.

Flying Under the Radar

In the year 2009, it is currently vogue to be wired 24/7. It’s harmful, but it is cool. Without the ability to fly under the radar screen for a period of time to recharge your batteries, you are living on the edge of stress and your body and mind are red lining.

I think being cool is just the opposite. Take an evening this week and fly under the radar screen. Drive your friends and relatives bonkers and turn off all electronic contact power from 5PM to morning. Achieve some balance by finding some ‘me’ time without electronics. Meditate, singularly focus your mind on something or on nothing and regenerate your batteries.

Noisy Isolation

We live in a world of noisy isolation. Our contact with electronic gadgets exceeds our contact with humans. We’re busier, faster, brighter, and full of more information than at any time in the history of mankind. But do we talk to each other?

The microchip explosion has changed our ability to become intimate with our loved ones. We text them quick statements that are Egyptian characters in nature: mostly consonants or acronyms. LOL (laugh out loud), BTW (by the way), TTYL (talk to you later), and OMGTKOFGG (oh my gosh the kitchen’s on fire, gotta go).

Where Have all the Children Gone?

If you were asked what means more to you than anything in the world? What would you say? What would almost anybody say?

I just returned from spending almost a week with the Boy Scouts on a High Adventure in the San Juan Islands. Camping, hiking, cliff jumping, kayaking, swimming and adventure in record-breaking heat.

It was a marvelous time and what made the experience so great was that my son, Scott, spent the time with me as my tent buddy. Each night around the campfire (non-blazing because of a burn ban) we spent time with 15 scouts discussing morals, family, honesty, integrity, and many of the essentials skills and attributes that make up a successful person.