My ruminations on what I’ve learned recently. As they occur to me I usually write them down. Thought I’d throw a few out there. I’ll add to it as I go. Feel free to add some:

I have a friend who says he wants to be a great man, someone who moves history. He might be. I tell him I want to be something much more difficult to achieve. I want to be a good man.

When my baby cries I pick her up. I want to pick her up no matter what the books say. I don’t always but I want to.

I want the teams I root for to win. But I don’t pray for it. Not anymore.

Children love band-aids even if their boo-boo didn’t break the skin. Don’t know why. Maybe they feel it acknowledges the trauma. If they feel it necessary I sit them up on the counter and put it on. No questions asked.

I know that we all remember the little slights by our parents ten times more than we do the hugs and I love you’s. So I try to never slight them and give them ten times the hugs they want and say I love you in the most embarrassing places. That way they’ll remember it.

I punish my children. I honestly don’t know what Dr. Spock was thinking.

I want to work hard because I’ve found I’m happiest when I’m working towards a goal.

I want to say the Rosary every day. I don’t. But I try.

I want to go to every one of my children’s games, concerts, plays, and science fair’s. And it means so much more to them when they can look up and you’re not taping them. They like looking at you in the eye. The thing is, we tape for us so we can watch it when we get older. We’re there for them.

I want my children to be better than me. And I never want them to know how bad I really was or am.

My children laugh when I’m wrong so sometimes I’m wildly and imaginitively wrong just to get a laugh.

My children’s clothes may not always match but their hair will be combed and their teeth brushed.

Singing in the car with your children is the single best mood-picker-upper.

The Internet is the greatest time saver in the world.

The Internet is the greatest stealer of time in the world.

The more children you have the bigger your smile should be in public. I don’t ever want to be somebody’s excuse for not having more children…