Todd Lyden

While back, I wrote a post on Father's day about being a father and how being a parent is a job. I wistfully look back as I look forward to another school year quickly approaching and the evidence of my "work" is becoming less and less my handiwork. Our youngest has just moved on to middle school. Josh has moved into high school and the oldest has graduated from high school and about "start" her life. We've had a tacit arrangement with the kids. We do NOT want boomerang kids coming back to haunt us. So they have always been told, they are staying with us until they are REALLY ready to go out and that includes the joke that college has become. Sadly, despite the fact that I have spent a good chunk of my career working in higher education, I know that it is a folly to think that sending a child off to college is preparing them for much other than to have a lifetime of loans. Thankfully, Amanda has gotten the message. She has a plan to go to local c...

I had never heard of John Hively before. But I was looking for a quote about aging and found this: “It's easy to grow old if you haven't grown up” Wow... I'd not heard this one bit of my psyche put so succinctly before- but thank you Mr. Hively. I turned 40 last year. That sentence does not cause me any great emotions except to wonder the same thing I have told folks for pretty much the last twenty years. "I can't believe that the world has allowed me to enter the adult workspace..." From the moment I felt the freedom of not living under parental control and being loose in the world, I have hardly felt a day like I belonged in it. This isn't to say I have not learned your rules and adapted to how to "be an adult." I never felt like Peter Pan and wanted to stay young, but I always felt like I had pulled something over on the rest of the world. Like a kid who stayed up too late for the first time. That realization that I could...

Take a minute to listen to a "sweet" story from the daughter...

Ok, so I mention my youngest a bit on here . But this REALLY struck me yesterday. We bought a new car, which borderline defies description. It is a Mazda5 . Mazda describes it as a "sportswagon." I think it is somewhere between a mini-van and a station wagon. We've heard it described as a mini-mini van, perfect for the ex-wife. We still have our mini-van. Both are different shades of blue. Erica recognized, without being prodded, that to talk about the two vehicles was going to be tough. As we got in one of the vehicles, she said, "you know, we should call the new van "Maximus," and the old van "Oscar" so we know which is which. Six years old. She knew we were going to have this issue and divined the solution before the problem had really presented itself. Related articles Auto Review: 2012 Mazda5: wagon, van or minivan? (marketwatch.com) Mazda5 is part small car, part minivan (abclocal.go.com)

How quick are you at seeing something coming down the road? I was fortunate enough to hear a wonderful speaker this week who suggested that one of the crucial talents of ANY leader is recognizing a trend before it starts. You've heard that before, but I was able to personalize it yesterday. My youngest was slowly taking care of her night time routine when I said something to the effect of "hey poke-a-loke, can you move any slower?" (Thankfully, my youngest has the sarcasm gene.) Without missing a beat, as if she was Jim Carrey, she slows the movement in her body down and pretending to be in slow-motion, says "Suuurrreeee, Daaaaaaaaad. I caaaaaaan moooooove sloooower." I stopped myself from laughing and continued with the nighttime routine but stood amazed by this six-year-old's ability to move on a dime. Her ability to see a joke (even if she doesn't realize it) and react to it is borderline precognitive to me. I only wish I could see the r...