Summer Vacation Break

Will be now taking a break to make you miss them even more.

During this break, I would encourage you to think about what you've read and draw your own conclusions.

You have a good strong brain in there, and I know you know how to use it.

When these things come back, they make look a little different.

I'd, for sure, check back in soon and she how they look in some different jeans.... maybe a new button-down the front shirt...

Probably new, good and supportive shoes.

We'll have warm brownies and cold iced tea. 

copyright 2010 moemasters

A Fine June Morning for 3 More

esimene Listen to Public Radio and watch Public Television (if you’re going to watch any TV at all, which I’m still not completely sold on.) When you enjoy the wide array of goodness these two public media services give you and they are having a pledge drive: Give them money! Seriously. Don’t make me tell you twice. They depend on your generosity to keep them going.

teine Avoid shopping at “Big Box” stores like Wal-mart and Best Buy if you can. There is a greater chance than not that they will be still selling junk produced by underpaid slaves in third world countries when you are an adult, and you should try not to support that economy. Be a smart consumer and do your research, plan ahead, do whatever it takes to avoid becoming one of the masses that only shops these places. I don’t care if their prices ARE better - it is better for you and the universe at large to not save those few pennies and go elsewhere.

kolmas Stay young for as long as you can. Maintain relationships with people who are younger than you. And, not just a couple years younger than you, but 10 years, 20 years, 40 years younger than you. Nurture these relationships and spend time sharing words and meals with these young whippersnappers. The perspective they provide and the sparks they ignite are specific to their youth. By getting to share time with them, you will get to stay closer to your youthfulness. They serve as constant reminders that we are only as old as we allow ourselves to be. As soon as you stop allowing yourself to be old, you get to stop being old. It rocks that way.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Momo Phones One In

pertama Just because there is a little bit of green mold on the bread you do not have to throw the whole loaf away. Cut off the green part, toast it up a smidge, slather it in butter and a good home-made jam and call it good. That's what my grandma always told me, anyways.

kedua Don't kill frogs or toads if you can avoid it. I used to know boys who did this when I was a kid and it still bothers me. If they are a nuisance just relocate them. They are a blast to catch (they will probably pee on you and I'm sorry about that, but it's not the end of the world) and they take to identity reassignment much easier than, say, possums and squirrels.

ketiga Try to avoid doing all your heavy lifting and hard working right smack dab in the middle of a steamy hot day. Get up early and tend to your chores or hit them just as the sun is setting. This is strictly a summer suggestion, as you can pretty much work like crazy any old time in the winter.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Quiet Walks to the Masseuse

eerste Learn to retreat and spend time with yourself in peace. Meditate. Think about it. Spend a few hours (or days) not speaking or writing. Be still enough for everything within you to percolate and solidify. It will happen, I promise. It's a bit like an extended version of a "Time Out" chair. My adults always said something to the effect of, "You just go and think about what you've done." This is a kinder version of that. 

Love yourself enough to sit and be quiet with you. Just you. When you're doing it right and you've run out of things to think about (which you will) - you will think about nothing, and man, I swear, this is some good stuff. I love it when I hit the thinking about nothing place in my head. It's far too rare for me and I wish better for you. Practice this and get good at it.

tweemaal Never underestimate the restorative powers of a good walk. A walk with a friend, a walk with just yourself, a walk to someplace or a walk to nowhere - walks are just some really cool things. Wear good shoes, too. You'll find this is a reoccurring theme with me: Those are the only feet you are going to get, you had best take care of them.

derde If your knees hurt when you bend to lift a 1-ton stone, stop doing that. If it hurts your body to do something, then stop it. Don't do it. Learn your limitations. Pain is our body's way of telling us that we're not doing something right. Pay attention to it and never let it get worse if you can avoid it. Sometimes you may just need a massage too, we will discuss this soon. 

copyright 2010 moemasters

Tuquoise colored island economics

першы You don't have to know how to do everything. You should, however, surround yourself with people who have skills you don't have. It would be helpful if everybody on your little island did not agree on every single thing, as well. It makes for a fatter and richer pool of ideas from which to draw. Build a life that is full to the brim with differences. Always keep a good geek, a good cook and try to have scare up an empath from somewhere.

другі If wearing the color turquoise makes your eyes more blue: Wear the color turquoise. Learn what colors look good on you and which ones don't. Very few humans can pull off bright orange, just so you know. And, an all black wardrobe does not the happy closet make. Wear some color, for Pete's sake!

трэці Learn about finance. All kinds of finance. I totally slept through this class (that was just a euphemism, I never even got the chance to take a course in Finance or Economics.) That being said: I really hope you do. You need to understand not only your own personal economy, but the gigantic great big economy that impacts your life, as well. You also need to learn how to balance a checkbook and not spend money that you don't have.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Voting, deal breakers and text books.

Voting is as much a privilege as it is an obligation. IF you have the opportunity to cast your vote, you'd best do it. Should you choose NOT to exercise this privilege, you will never ever be able to complain about the state of the nation or the state of your state or the state of your county. I know I keep telling you that THIS really matters, but for real: THIS really matters.

Everybody has got a "Deal Breaker" or two. There are just some things that we (subject entirely to personal taste, expectations and needs) will not be able to tolerate in other human beings. These things will evolve as you age. Do not compromise on what you will and will NOT tolerate. For instance: you could be the cutest, smartest, bravest boy in the world, but if you smell like a 30 year old goat who has been in the sun too long  - we probably won't be sharing many meals. THAT is one of my deal breakers.

You are under no obligation to trust what you read in your textbooks in schools. Remember how I told you to be judicious about what you see on the Internet? Well, now I have to tell you to take everything you are forced to read in school with a grain of salt. We are all the products of revisionist history. Do your research and make up your own mind based on the facts that you can find. Try to avoid jumping to hasty conclusions.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Green Eyed Monsters who talk too long and The IRS

one You should never ever ever, under any circumstance, expose yourself to a friend or lover who demonstrates jealous tendencies. Ever. Not ever, not for one minute and not for any reason. There is not now, and there never will be any good reason to try and maintain a relationship with someone who snoops through your cell phone and questions your loyalty. You should never have to listen to endless hours of unreasonable accusations founded on absolutely no truth. There is no room for jealousy in a healthy life and/or relationship. Should you accidentally find yourself in this position - run as far away and as fast as you possibly can. Don't even take the time to collect your things and do not ever look back. Really good humans don't torture other good humans this way and it is a sign of sickness that you should never have to help someone work through.

two Do not use 100 words when 10 will do. I still do this entirely too much (see the above paragraph, for instance.) I'm not suggesting a form of self-censorship that prevents you from being real or expressing yourself well - just don't be that person who could have stopped talking (or writing) much sooner. 

three Remember this: Do NOT jack with the IRS. While I've never had to learn this one first hand - I've heard some seriously whack stories and I had a lifetime of watching a man think he could out-smart the IRS. It's never going to happen. The IRS is perhaps one of the most serious entities here in America and they have an uncanny ability to make your world a pretty unpleasant place to be if you try to deny them their slice of your pie.

(And, yes - I know you are just a baby. But this one seems to matter so I'm telling you now.)

copyright 2010 moemasters

Free money, dogs and doing it.

uno There is a chance I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating if so: IF you say you are going to do something, then do it. No excuses. Nobody held a gun to your head (or only very very rarely) and made you agree to it, so be good to your word. If you say you are going to be there at noon, be THERE at noon. Business or pleasure, friends or appointments: Do what you say you are going to do and do it when you say you are going to. If you are running late, or need to reschedule they have invented these groovy awesome things called telephones - use one.

dos Pets are a luxury and not a necessity. If you don't have the coin to keep your bills current, your family fed and your obligations met - you have no business owning a pet. I know that we have recently covered the responsibilities involved in pet ownership, and I would hope you haven't forgotten that part. IF I start to think you've forgotten: I will remind you. Often.

tres Don't spend your change - save it. If you even still bank with actual currency by the time you are old enough to understand this, and you buy things with dollar bills (or Euros or whatever) keep your spare change in a bowl or jar or something in your bedroom. Those coins add up quick and it really is like finding money that you never thought you had. Even though you earned it at one time, when you cash it in at the bank - it feels like you've won the lottery.

copyright 2010 moemasters

You and your nutty opportunities....

primer Some things don't work out like they should. Sometimes it is nobody's fault and there is nothing that could have been done to change that. It is important to learn how to get back up and dust yourself off. Place no blame, that's not your job. Carry on and be calm. Let the past stay in the past and let the beauty of the lessons it taught you never be wasted.

This, my love, is just life.

segon Worrying about the future is not going to change it. The future will be what the future will be and you worrying about it isn't going to change it one iota. Stay as firmly planted in the "Present" as you can. Always make provisions and do no harm, and I would about guarantee that your future will be so bright, you'll have to wear sunglasses.

tercera You have more opportunities than anyone who has ever come before you. Do not look this gift horse in the mouth. Never forget the battles that were won prior to your arrival. They are the stones that have built the path you get to walk upon. Keep them in good order and build on to them for those who will follow. 

copyright 2010 moemasters

Seriously swearing bananas

isa In spite of the fact that I have personally taken home the Gold in the last 4 Winter Olympic Swearing Like a Sailor floor routines, I would ask that you find better ways to express yourself. To that end I would like to humbly submit some of my favorites: Holy Cannoli! Shazam! (NEVER: Oh, SNAP! That is soo SOOO last year.) Son of a biscuit! ... I've heard that used to good effect. There really is a time and place for everything, but don't swear if you can avoid it.

dalawa Don't take yourself so seriously. We are all just humans with about the same basic limitations. A life lived without a LOT of humor really just isn't worth living. Cultivate the ability to laugh at yourself and some of the really silly things you do. We all do silly things and too much seriousness will age you way too quickly (and kinda make you look like a turd.)

tatlo Eat bananas. They are good for you and they are some of the tastiest of the fruits. They travel almost as well as apples and oranges too, so they got that going for 'em. It's never a bad idea to have a banana on-hand. You never know when you are going to get hungry.

Addendum: Do NOT ever try to cross borders of different counties with fruit in your knapsack. I'll tell you a story about it sometime, but for reasons that I don't fully understand, countries frown upon you taking their fruit to other countries.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Duplicity, Fairy Tales and Writing

first Mind yourself when it comes to committing your words to writing or digital publication (facebook posts and emails, for instance.) It's one thing to think it, it's another to say it aloud, but when you preserve a special piece of poison to the confines of eternity by writing it down or posting it online, it CANNOT EVER be undone and writing it down makes it real. Mind what you write. 

And, just for a little unsolicited insight into me, JUST me: If you ever sent me a hateful or painful piece of correspondence, I know exactly where it is and will provide it the very instant you deny ever having sent it. I'm just sayin'...

second It is not now, nor will it EVER be, your job to take another person's personal inventory. Walk away from being judgmental. Do not stare directly into it. Back in the good old days of Bible Fairy Tales, you would turn to stone or salt - but, we apparently don't roll this way anymore. So lets do it this way: You worry about you and the plethora of things in and about you that could easily benefit from revision, and you let other people worry about themselves. It will always be a lot more fun to try and fix others, but a lot more rewarding and practical to turn that energy inside. Avoid the temptation.

third Make sure your friends and family know that you love them (if you do, and you don't have to, but just in case you do...) Make it a point to be sure they know it. Do not be so duplicitous as to shout from the mountaintops that you are all about the Honor of Family or the value in environmental responsibility and then spend no energy making it apparent. 

I know you know what I mean.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Old friend, role models and allowance

начало Cultivate friendships with people older than you. You don't really need to jump right on this one as a child, but as soon as you're able to actually understand a lot of the things you see and hear - it's a great idea to get someone in your corner who understands it better than you. This is not a Universal Truth, I've met way too many extremely limited older folks, but in general, if you get to build a friendship with someone 20 years older than you, do it.

секунда Be cautious about who you choose to look at as a role model. Some people are capable of doing some pretty horrendous things to other people in the name of "love" or "friendship." And, it's not always going to be easy to spot them, but pay attention to the humans you think you want to grow up and be. 

терция There is a cliche or a colloquialism or something that says, "What you allow, you teach." This one is important: IF you allow people to treat you like a lesser human, they will learn that the only way to treat you is like a lesser human. I have given you a solid foundation here, built on things that I have mostly screwed up - THIS is my biggest one. I have allowed some heinous stuff. I would really hope that you won't. Never forget your back-bone and your seriously sharp and real "Spidey Senses." Pay attention to your intuition and instinct.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Old drivers speaking Latin and going to church

primoris Try to avoid taking attitude with older and less-attentive drivers. They are going exist, they may make you late to something that probably doesn't matter all that much anyway, but they've paid their dues. Just breathe through it. Don't be going all road-rage-y on them.
Addendum: Feel free to flip off and honk at any younger, totally inattentive and dangerous drivers. But, be careful - some of these morons pack heat.

duo Learn enough Latin to help you understand the origins of the words we use here in English speaking countries. This ability will also help greatly where they speak French, German or Spanish. I'm not asking you to find a prehistoric relic to grill you on subjective forms and passive tenses, I'm just asking that you take a minute and learn a little Latin.

obduro Don't think that just because some people attend churches or synagogues or temples they have any kind of stronger moral integrity than you or anybody else. Attending church doesn't make you a good person any more than parking in a garage makes you a car.  

(And, yes - I borrowed this idea from some silly facebook thing.)

copyright 2010 moemasters

The Weight of Scars

kwanza Anybody worth their salt has got some great scars. Not bruises. Not welts. Not black eyes and broken noses. Great scars.

pili Nobody's scars weigh more than anybody else's scars. The pain that we have all gone through - the pain that has shaped the directions we have taken and things we have survived  - be it rapes, deceased children or murdered kittens - all weigh exactly the same in the end. This is subjective and not up for debate.

tatu The commonalities that make us family don't define us. We get to have huge disagreements on very fundamental things with people who we love and need. The people who are the most important to us, and will REMAIN the most important to us, are the ones who we CAN disagree with, find forgiveness in and love unconditionally.

copyright 2010 moemasters

strangers, parents & poison

one Thumper's mom once said "If you can't say anything nice, then say nothing at all." And, at this point in the game, I couldn't agree more. I would even add an amendment that goes something like this: If you find that most of the pearls falling from your lips are wrapped in poison - quit talking. Every little bit of bad energy you spill on the planet leaves a trace. Some people are exceptionally sensitive to these "traces" and the poison you've left spinning about can actually make them sick. Consider your words carefully.

two When you're out in the world making your way from birth to death, you will, on occasion, see a stranger who just needs to tell somebody something. They are generally easy to spot, and you have been given two beautiful ears and two strong shoulders, share them with the lonely and broken-hearted when you know it's the right thing to do. This doesn't mean you have to take them home, but if they are so lonely as to talk to strangers - they must need it pretty bad.

three Be good to your parents. They will never be around as long as you think they might and you will miss them when they are gone. Don't add regret to the mix - be kind to them while they are alive.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Walking, Borrowing and Forgiving

jedan Take walks in the rain after midnight sometimes if you ever get the chance. This action is greatly enhanced by doing so with someone who cares about you, but it's not entirely necessary. There's something to the sounds and the smells...

dva Be good to yourself. Take care of your spirit and humor because nobody else is going to. This could be one of the only things you HAVE to do besides keep on living. Learn to forgive yourself for the things you have done and learn to make amends to those you have harmed. These are both critical to taking good care of yourself and your spirit.

tri NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE OWE ANYBODY MONEY. This one matters: Do NOT borrow money. For real. This is one of the purest forms of soul-suckery. The minute you owe somebody something - they own your soul. You are clever and smart and talented enough to always find some way to meet your own needs.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Silent Kindness, Door Openers and Reading

gyntaf If you choose a life that includes philanthropy and random acts of kindness, do not brag about it. By telling the world about the wonderful and selflessness of you, you completely undo whatever good you did. Do good, always - talk about it never. Encourage other people to do good things too, but do not make them feel like lesser humans if they haven't been given the resources you have to help in the ways you have chosen. We all can help in different ways, and they won't always include throwing money.

ail Open the door for people if and when you can. It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl or if they are younger or older - just open the door for people when you can. BONUS ADD-ON: If you are a boy then you should open the passenger side of your car for a girl before you get in.

trydydd Learn to read out loud to someone you care about. Learn to love it when they read out loud to you. Slow down, relax - being read out loud to can be one of the finest things around.

copyright 2010 moemasters

Birthdays, Self-Esteem and Sweat Busting

uno When you care enough about someone to know when their birthday is: Drop into their world somehow and let them know that you are glad they were born. If you don't know their birthday, and would like to - just ask or do a little research, everything is right here on this screen, some place. 

dos It is not enough to understand and appreciate the differences between arrogance and confidence without having a solid rooting in your own self-esteem. This could be one of the most difficult high-wire acts to walk successfully and may take a minute or two to master. I have not been blowing smoke up your skirt when I tell you: You are brave and funny and smart and strong (not to mention, a total eye treat.) Do NOT devalue yourself and sell yourself short. You have skills and fingerprints and joy that nobody else on this earth has - don't be just giving it all away willy nilly. Expect just compensation for jobs you do well and then do your job well. No jacking around on this one.

tres Burn some calories every day. Bust a sweat, for real. I mean it. You'll sleep better if you do, it releases some crazy great chemicals in your brain and it makes you remember that you can do it. Whatever "it" is - you can do it and are lucky to be able to do so. I would like it best if you helped make the world a better place through your sweat-busting, but I would also really like you to get your heart rate up and make your body a better place. Basically, this will involve getting up off your bum and hoping you have some sore muscles tomorrow.

copyright 2010 thesethreethings

*no times for edit these days, almost no connection. gotta run fast. Email if there are glaring errors, thanks.

prvý There is a very fine (but completely distinguishable) line that separates arrogance from confidence. Learn to love yourself because you rock out loud, and don't ever think that you're better than anybody. You are not better than anyone else. You also don't suck out loud, no matter what anybody tells you. 

druhý If there are still ice trays by the time you are old enough to read this: Refill the ice trays. Don't take the last of the ice and put the trays back in empty. Or, worse yet: Don't put them back in with two ice cubes left. That is a total buzz-kill for the person behind you who wants a cold beverage.

tretí Don't kill the spiders that accidentally drop into your home. They probably don't want to be there just as much as you don't want them to be there. The Spider Relocation Program works out best for the entire universe. Every little bit of biology has a job to do and you don't need to kill it. Seriously.

copyright 2010 thesethreethings

Cowboy Up. No excuses.

one Don't give up. Everybody hates quitters. Life is hard AND unfair and that doesn't mean you get to quit.

two No whining. Buck up and take it like a grown up.

three Even if you think you're dying inside from something tragic like a broken heart or a betrayed loyalty: Cowboy up. Nobody wants to hear about any of that. Stuff it deep deep down inside and carry on like life has never been better. Never let 'em see you down, you are better than that.

copyright 2010 thesethreethings