Life Lessons - from Dad and Uncle Bern

By: Zack AKA Uncle Bernie The word luck was thrown around a lot between my brother and I when we were growing up. I remember that he would eat “lucky” noodles  (Ramen)  before soccer games to help him score goals.  At a middle  school  dance,   I  was too intimidated to  ask my date to dance with me on the last  song , so she was asked by someone else and accepted. I  therefore  bid myself “unlucky .” There was a lot of this going on   back and  forth,  so  my Dad was  taking notes and ready to squash  all  of  this.  Suddenly one  day he had a new mant r a  that he sprung on us  that he still repeats to  this day , “HA! I’m the luckiest guy in the world.   I create my own luck by working hard er than everyone else. The harder I work, the luckier I am!” Consequently, the volume of our   “ work hard ”  culture at home  got turned up to m...

The words “legend” and “epic” are thrown around a little too easily these days, in my opinion. However, the stories of Tim Snyder AKA Timbo really are the stuff of legend. We all know someone larger than life. It can be a coach, a cousin, family friend, even a parent. Timbo was one of those people for me. He was a big guy, both literally and figuratively. Combine that with his often gruff demeanor and he was intimidating to me when I was young. Timbo was always at our house. The fact that we lived near his favorite hunting spot played a major role in that, along with him being my father’s best friend. Timbo’s love of hunting went beyond the typical person’s “thrill of the hunt” desire. The forest was like his fortress of solitude, where he went to escape. It wasn’t uncommon for me to wake up on a Saturday morning and see his ugly Chevette already in our driveway and for it to still be there when I was getting ready for bed. His dedication to the sport of deer hunting didn’t always ex...

By: Matt AKA Dad Sports have played a significant role in the lives of my family. My wife and I both played multiple sports, our parents, siblings, cousins and friends all were involved in athletics too. It’s only natural that we also follow college and professional sports teams. Now that my 9 year old Caiden has become a full-blown sports fan, I decided that it was time to share my thoughts on sports fandom. Let’s start here: I root for Penn State football and wrestling, Duke basketball, and the Detroit Lions. My favorite college teams have had relative success but the Detroit Lions have been downright awful for a long time. That being said, my sons are welcome to root for whoever they want. In good conscience, I can’t force that misery on them. My thoughts on being a sports fan are split in two ways. First, you should never be so passionate about a sports team comprised of athletes that you most likely have zero personal connection to that if they lose, it ruins your mood...

By: Matt AKA Dad Having a little brother can be challenging at times, but if you play it right, it can be A LOT of fun. My brother Zack is 7 years younger than me so we didn’t have much in common for the first few years of his life. However, by the time he turned 4, it was clear that he was the entertainer of the family. I still remember him climbing onto the kitchen table during dinner and doing bodybuilding poses to show off his muscles! As he got older, Zack’s love of the spotlight grew. Enter Houdini. I don’t really know where he learned about magicians or Houdini, but all of a sudden he was claiming to be an escape artist. It started small, with simple death-defying acts of escape from beneath a pile of couch cushions. It became trickier as we added blankets to the mix, wrapping him up like a mummy. My friends would come over and create different ways to contain Houdini Hoffman, but he would always find a way to escape. These fun escapades led up to two separate events that ...

By: Matt AKA Dad This is a post on the importance of friendship and how to tell who your real friends are.  But in order for this first part to make sense, let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the Rocky movie franchise.  How big a fan?  When my first son, Caiden, was born, I brought the Rocky I on DVD and played it in his hospital room so that it was the first movie he ever "saw".  When my second son, Mason, was born, guess what he got to watch?  Rocky II!  When I found out my wife was pregnant again with my third son, I had Rocky III all ready to go.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a DVD player in the hospital room for Collins or he would have gotten learn about "the eye of the tiger" on his day of birth.  Now that we have established just how much this film franchise means to me, I want to share a lesser known line from it.  Sylvester Stallone plays a sometimes slow-witted boxer in these movies, but he always seemed to come through...

By: Matt AKA Dad I’ve spent much of my life allowing my self worth to come from other people’s opinions. It has been a maddening race to try to live up to what has been, in my mind, the crushing expectations of my parents, friends, teachers, co-workers, supervisors, spouse and everyone else in my life. This wasn't due to anything they had done, it was a direct result of me wanting to please everyone, all the time! What I had been neglecting is an important truth - self worth literally can only come from one person, yours truly. While it’s important to use constructive criticism to grow, it should only be used as a tool for improvement. Knowing this, it is imperative to me to ensure that my children don't suffer from this constant self-doubt.  That being said, I don’t want myself or my kids to develop a laissez-faire attitude about self improvement. Quite the opposite, actually. Instead, we need to be able to reflect on our goals, make a plan for reaching them, and constant...

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...