Dillweed Advice?

Text: "Perched upon the stack of plastic lawn chairs, Noah felt the full measure of the power he would weald for the day. Next on his list of acquisitions, a paper crown from Burger King!"
_{Credits: Astrid kit from Catscrap, Journaling spots, Pauline Alpha by Catrine, frame overlays by Favreau, font: typewriter and DJB Juliana in a Hurry by Darcy Baldwin at The Sweet Shoppe.}
:::::::::::::::::Book Review:::::::::::


I cryed, laughed, cryed, tore bits of paper as bookmarks, and thought about the different points made by Dr. Randy Pausch. He has past away after his fight with pancreatic cancer, a cancer that claimed both of my maternal grandparents. Here are some of the passages that stuck out to me:

1. "When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you."
2. "You can always change your plan, but only if you have one."
3. "Earnest is better than hip."..."When I think of someone who is earnest, I think of a Boy Scout who works hard and becomes an Eagle Scout...I knew there had to be an earnestness about him that outweighed any superficial urges toward hipness."
..."Think about it. Becoming an Eagle Scout is just about the only thing you can put on your resume at age fifty that you did at age fourteen-and it still impresses."

Pausch stated that even though he was a very earnest person he did not achieve Eagle Scout, but he did make special consideration for all Eagle Scouters that sent an application to join his program at Carnegie Mellon University.

4. "Too many people go through life complaining about their problems. I've always believed that if you took one-tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out."

5. The Seneca quote he liked, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
6. Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer." I liked his analogy of being the "First Penguin", who is the one that is the first to leap in the water knowing that predators are waiting.

7. Hand written thank you notes, "I still try to hand write notes when it's important to do so. It's just he nice thing to do And you never know what magic might happen after it arrives in someone's mailbox."
8. Be a Communitarian. "We've placed a lot of emphasis in this country on the idea of people's rights. That's how it should be, but it makes no sense to talk about rights without also talking about responsibilities." He goes on to remark that his students don't get the concept of giving back to the community in return. He goes on to give this example: "We all believe we have a right to a jury trial. And yet many people go to great lengths to get out of jury duty."
Overall, the message this book gave me was to share with your children the things that make them special to you and leave them memories of how you interacted with them. I know in an extension of that my kids have memories (that keep getting reinforced) of making grits and biscuits with Granny Sue, making Grandpa Jim's special pancakes, and Eve going to Home Depot build days with Grandpa. Michael and I try to take the kids on special vacations, read to them 5 days a week, as a family, I scrapbook the crazy things we do together and separately. I just need to throw me into the mix more often. This was a very thoughtful read and one I highly recommend.

The next books I have on my list are:




:::::::::::::Walking:::::::::::

On mile 3 I saw one of my friends Karen, from Girl Scouts and school, so she tagged up with me and we talked about upcoming plans for the troop. We walked a couple of miles together and had a fun time.
One of my new favorite walking songs is "Shake It" by Metro Station. Their video harks back to some 80's style videos with the break dancing style dance moves. I think if I tried any of those moves I would be in traction.

::::::::::::::Nap, Eve?...PLEASE!!!

Oh, the wee Kindergartner is in full whine mode. She needs a nap, desperately. One may be imposed if she keeps up her current modus operandi! I asked Noah for some advice to get Eve to stop her whining ways he responded with, "Just yell at her." Thanks, Noah!
This tete a tete made me wonder...if the advice you get is not "Sage" advice is it possibly... Dillweed advice, hmmm?
On that note...the brownies I baked are nice a warm...that I believe means an extra mile. Tenditinitis...thy name is one too many brownies!

Take Care!