I’ve spent much of my adult life feeling as if I’m winging it. Winging it in the sense that I’ve been figuring things out as I go along, as I experience them. My likes and dislikes, my passions and purpose, my dreams and desires have mostly formed and developed through coming into direct contact with the experience.
As an independent author, you must be prepared to wear two hats – your creative hat, and your business hat.
Indie authors must exercise due diligence every step of the journey as we strive to produce our unique product. Since writing is an art, and publishing is a business, there is a bit of improvisation that comes with the territory as we devise ways to tailor our message, and design various strategies to meet our literary goals.
Similarly, with regard to parenting, there’s a bit of spontaneity that goes along with the hands-on experience we gain as parents that will prove to be our ultimate guide.
For some reason the concept of “winging it” doesn’t sound like a suitable or acceptable parenting style because there must be certain guidelines associated with being a good parent – right?
We can read all the books and articles, take all the classes and receive all the helpful advice we can get, but there are still a lot of things we parents are just making up along the way.
Parenting is as high stakes as it gets—another person’s life is in your hands. And many of us look to gurus for easy step-by-step instructions on how to do it right. Don’t get me wrong, tips and tricks are great. But what the “experts” are telling us doesn’t always work. They don’t account for the fact that raising other humans is a messy endeavor. That each child and each parent is an individual with unique experiences, needs and quirks. – Hillary Frank, Parenting Looks Nothing Like What The Experts Say
An article written by Hillary Frank for the Atlantic.com, wonderfully highlights the fact that our children are always involving us in all sorts of hi-jinx and shenanigans, and we must maneuver through those proceedings with “a mix of random ideas, physical comedy, and whatever tools just happen to be at our fingertips.”
We often think that there is some sort of magical formula behind being a good parent and I’m sure the thought of whether or not we are doing a good job crosses our minds (I know that’s at least true for me).
There are probably millions of different ideas on how to raise a child and I’m sure at least half of those are quite valid. Parenting is definitely a learned experience and it boils down to making common sense decisions, a positive attitude, having a passion to succeed as a parent, and the heart to trust your better judgment – go with your gut.
The magic comes from how you wing it.
Man, like I always say – it’s hard being a Kansas City Chiefs fan!
I’ve been routing for the Chiefs since 1981 after I met players, Joe Delaney and JT Smith, in a local mall in the town I was raised, Kansas City KS.
And it’s been a rollercoaster mix of great times and heartache ever since.
I feel very invested in the fortunes of this team because it has been a way for our family to come together and bond for years. We once had season tickets for 12 years, experiencing first hand the rip-roaring, raucous atmosphere that is Arrowhead stadium with it’s customs, chants, loud and friendly frenzied fans, that help to create it’s almost cult-like environment.
The Chiefs have always been a pretty good team and from 2010-2017 they rank #9 for winningest team of the decade.
Kansas City: 72-56 Regular-season record (.563)
Decade Summary: The Chiefs have put together five playoff seasons and have made the postseason in four of the first five years of the Andy Reid coaching era, winning 53 games in that span. But they’re 1-5 in the playoffs this decade, winning only in a 30-0 rout at Houston after the 2015 season. Has six winning seasons and five of 10 wins or more, with three AFC West titles. Won back-to-back division titles for first time in franchise history in 2016-17. Have gone one-and-done in the playoffs four times, losing three of those games at home and blowing an enormous lead at Indianapolis in the 2013 postseason. Three head coaches this decade, Todd Haley, Romeo Crennel and Andy Reid.
But when it comes to the playoffs, they let us down every year – every year for the last 49 years to be exact. The Chiefs haven’t been to the Super Bowl since 1970. That means I’ve never seen the Chiefs play in a Super Bowl in my lifetime.
They had their chance last night, but they fell in over-time to the much “hated” New England Patriots.
I’m so disappointed, but I guess I’ll do what I have after every single season. I’ll go lick my wounds for the next couple of months, and wait until next year. Go Chiefs!
We face many challenges in the world today and one of them is the continued effort to move forward in society with our diversity and inclusion endeavors.
I want to take a moment to reflect on a historic leader who defined change and transformation. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a courageous advocate for inclusion, who inspired generations through his commitment to love and unify people.
His dream of empowerment and inclusion lives on today with the many of us who continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Read about why MLK day is more than just a holiday to some, in this article, What Martin Luther King Day means to me.
This Weeks Videos
I came across this fantastic conversation between Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin, that I didn’t know existed. I found it to be absolutely riveting!
This is what Maria Popova from Brain Pickings.org thought about it. Check it out.
Check out Marley’s latest performance for the Wednesday Morning Music Club this past weekend.
Marley Wednesday Morning Music Club from Marc Boston on Vimeo.
Check out the view of last nights Super Blood Wolf Moon as seen from my back porch.
Super Blood Wolf Moon from Marc Boston on Vimeo.
Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your bodylove what it loves.Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes,over the prairies and the deep trees,the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,the world offers itself to your imagination,calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
Thank you Mary – rest in peace.
Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019).
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