This is a picture of my friends Tiffany and Barry. I’ll see Barry next month. I last saw Tif in 1991.

Tiffany, Kris, Jenny, Eric, Rajjon, Adam, John, Beng, and Tyler, all TreeHouse teens. All gone. Way too soon.

Life Is Short

This is post is part of a series entitled “10 for 25.” It’s about ten lessons – most of them hard lessons to learn – that I’ve learned over my twenty-five years at TreeHouse.

Life is short. Our time with loved ones is never guaranteed.

In the movie Batman Begins, Henri Ducard tells Bruce Wayne: You traveled the world now you must journey inwards to what you really fear; it’s inside you there is no turning back…If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely. Are you ready to begin?

Beginnings are important. Yesterday I began a series called “10 for 25.” It’s a series of ten lessons I have learned in my twenty-five years at TreeHouse.

B…

I’m in the midst of a ten-month curriculum re-write and most of my writing time and energy has been focused on that project rather than #mysilentscream. That said, when TreeHouse graciously offered to throw me an “open house” to celebrate my 25th anniversary at TreeHouse I began to think beyond the present and reflect on the past.

In the past twenty-five years I’ve learned an incredible amount about myself, my family, my friends, the staff I serve alongside and the teens and parents that we serve. As I thought about it I decided to think through ten important lessons I learned in those twenty five years. This series is called “10 in 25.”

I love my job. I love being employed. I hope that you have satisfying and meaningful work. This is not an essay for simplicity nor against having a job. This is a tribute to a friend giving up a great job for a great woman.

Awww if you want, it’s true.

It’s a risk.

It’s a sacrifice.

No job is “perfect”; hence without problems.
No relationship is “perfect” nor problem-free.

But, if you have the chance to build a lifelong love with someone while working a mundane job OR work a great job to return home lonely or to a contentious home, which would you choose?

Delighted By The Disappointing Silence Of An Absent Dad

Buoyed By The Blessings Of Being Bullied

Encouraged And Empowered By An Eating Disorder

Today if we turn to CNN, Fox News, Yahoo or Reuters, those are three headlines we will never read. And, if we did, they would only be news because of the absurd unlikeliness of the headline being true.

Last night some friends gathered and shared their stories. Our friends Kyle, Emma and Ellie stepped forward, up from the darkened rows of their seats and into the spotlight. In the glow of the stage lights surrounded by friends, fans and flawed people like them they spoke.

2014 has been a busy year. Sometimes it’s felt like this picture, a pile of rubble that caution-tape couldn’t hold back.

That said, I feel very blessed; #mysilentscream was again blessed by thousands of readers in more than eighty countries.

I had no idea what 2014 would contain. At the dawn of 2014 I’d never…
– heard of ISIS
– expected $2 a gallon gas prices

Without patriots, peace, prayer and politicians who chose wisely – in the United States and in the former Soviet Union – I would have never worn this jersey of one of my favorite hockey goalies, Russian Vladislav Tretiak.

Thank you Anna for delivering it. It’s still one of my favorite jerseys and symbols of hope.

June 13, 1987, that’s our wedding day.

My wife and I have a monthly tradition to celebrate all “13th” of the month.

Like most couples we celebrate our anniversary each year.

Today we’re adding another tradition I hope happens again.

We’re now celebrating every 10,000 days too. =)

Today is our 10k-wedding-day anniversary!

10K ?

When I was a kid I hated math homework, but, over the years I’ve learned that I love math. Now, my favorite part of following sports is the analytics. 1

I spent hours this week listening to and reading the lyrics of the current Billboard Hot 100. Musicians are often viewed as spokespersons of their generation.

For the cynics among us, it’s not all bad news.

At TreeHouse every week we remind our teens that “you’re not alone” because so many people – young and old – feel like they are the only one dealing with those feelings and thoughts. So it’s good news that two of the most popular songs have self-affirming messages.

Meghan Trainor “All About That Bass”

I spent hours today listening to and reading the lyrics of the current Billboard Hot 100. Every generation has it’s spokespersons. Musicians are often viewed as spokespersons of their generation. I was looking for insight and wisdom.

What I found were some very common themes.

Today I’ll share these.

Lessons From The Top

Life has no meaning.
Life is short; play and party hard.

Don’t waste time searching for meaning. Life is random and painful; get high or suffer through it.

Payback and revenge make wrongs right.
I can find meaning through fun, fame, cars, jewelry, etc.