Life Lessons - from Dad and Uncle Bern

By: Matt AKA Dad Let’s be honest, everyone loves lists. People also love unwritten rules. It’s about time we get the “unwritten rules” of the road down for future generations. When merging, if someone lets you into their lane ahead of them, you have to give the obligatory wave.  Know your audience - there’s nothing wrong with playing your music loud, especially if “Bohemian Rhapsody” is on. However, be aware of your surroundings! Pulling up to your buddy’s house on a Friday with (fill in With current favorite artist) playing, totally fine. Driving past a funeral procession with AC/DC’s  “highway to hell” blasting, not cool. Giving the head nod or wave - You know that poor guy holding the stop/slow sign at a road construction sight? When he turns the sign and allows you past, give him a nod or salute. If someone lets you merge in front of them, make sure you let them know that you appreciate it. Unless you are handicapped or injured, find a parking spot near the back o...

By: Uncle Bernie One particular wrestling season in high school I was having trouble making weight and finishing close matches. On a crispy winter  Sunday  morning  (my only day off) my father told me , “G et  your  running shoes  on …we’re going for a workout. ” And that’s  not something you say  ‘ no ’  to our dad about.  He  dr ove  us to a nearby mountain that is so dang steep that it’s  tricky  to even get to the top in a motor vehicle.  And this is a paved road. If it’s snowing, forget it. I saw where this was going … “Get out. See you at the top,” he sa id . I  was  kind of chuckling to myself as I  close d  the door , blowing into my cold hands. The idea of running up the mountain  - without stopping -  was actually kind of hysterical. Little did I know, my dad had been practicing and successfully  doing it  for months.  So,  it was far from impos...

By: Uncle Bernie At some point in your life, your car will break down. It’s inevitable. It happens to everyone. When it breaks down, people will be more likely to lend a helping hand if they see you behind the car pushing it rather than just standing around sticking your thumb out. This goes for every difficulty in life, whether it’s just a speed bump or a total breakdown. A lot of people immediately take their hands off the steering wheel at the first sign of discomfort or adversity. If you want your situation to improve, you need to start helping yourself first. When you’re going through a hard time and that very first feeling of procrastination, anxiety, or hopelessness hits…it’s time to go into ATTACK mode. You can’t ignore your situation or pretend like it doesn’t exist. And you can’t wait for someone else to fix it for you. Open the door, get behind the car, and start pushing. You might find that people will lend a helping hand. And you might find when you get good at push...

By: Matt AKA Dad -  I originally wanted to created this blog to leave fatherly advice to my 3 boys, but as I thought about it,  many of the things I want to share could also tie into education. So I decided to share these thoughts with my friends in teaching.  Reflecting on the best way to go about this, I remembered that advice is always best when told through anecdotes. This is when I reached out to my younger brother, Zack, to recall some of our favorite memories. These aren’t going to be sequentially written, instead be random thoughts on various topics. We love sharing & hearing personal stories from people's lives, so be prepared to hear some of ours and please feel free to send us yours! Music has always been an important part of my life growing up. I firmly believe that we need to foster every child’s interest in music. As parents and/or educators, we are also responsible to help grow that interest to understand and appreciate a wide variety of musical gen...