While I admit this subject isn’t something I can relate to or am familiar with, I believe that by sharing this infographic, there’s a possibility I can help someone in my social network who needs to see it. The infographic below is entitled “The War At Home- How To Spot Domestic Abuse.”
3 years, 11 months.
Dear Jack,
I don’t know who as enjoyed this Halloween more… you or me.
This is the most excited about “trick or treating” I’ve been since I can remember. I have been telling my coworkers all week how excited I have been for this day.
You were Batman, of course; dressed in $8 WalMart pajamas and a $4 Kroger mask.
I want to compliment you on the fact you actually said “trick or treat” before accepting candy from the dozen or so random households we accepted candy from tonight.
Mommy and I threw on random costume hats we had lying around the house so that our whole family could technically be dressed in costume for the night.
Going “trick or treating” really is so much fun… and so random.
I really like your choice of Batman. Your costume was very well respected among the houses we visited; as well as among other trick or treaters.
Today was also special in that I came to visit you at your school during your lunch. I enjoyed hanging out with you and seeing your friends dressed up. I truly appreciated the fact that your (girl) friend Eiley was dressed as a Power Ranger.
You even drew a special “Batman SUV monster truck” today for the occasion; which you insisted I cut out for you, to serve as a form of a toy.
Not to mention, you also have been making Play-Doh pumpkins, which you’ve been moving around with Lego bulldozers.
I was telling Mommy how much I enjoyed tonight and look forward to the Halloweens to come in the next several years. We had such a fun time together as a family.
Most of all, I loved seeing how excited you were to “be Batman.”
Love,
Daddy
P.S. Below is an inforgraph on the history of pumpkins; as I see relevant on Halloween.
As I’ve mentioned several times already, there are certain things that went unquestioned back in the Eighties when I was a kid, but these days, they are now taboo.
Like letting a kid ride in the back of a pick-up truck or on a riding lawn mower with an adult.
Today’s topic: Leaving your child for any (!) amount of time unattended.
This past weekend, my wife and I watched ABC’s 20/20 segment, “Is It Ever OK To Leave Your Child In The Car?” featuring the topic, “Parents Become Subject To Hot Car Witch Hunt.”
What actually worried me more than the possibility of forgetting about my son in the car and exposing him to the heat is getting arrested and losing custody of him; even if just run to the store in for a minute, with the temperature safe.
After watching that episode, I officially decided I will never leave my son in a vehicle for any amount of time, no matter how close I am to the car, because for some reasons legitimate, others exaggerated, there is currently a witch hunt to find parents who might potentially leave their children in hot vehicles.
Here’s a new infographic from Instant Checkmate showing the legitimate side of the story. It shares some interesting findings, like how the older the child, the less likely the child will be forgotten by the parent in the car.
See below, courtesy of Instant Checkmate:
3 years, 8 months.
Dear Jack,
There is (and should be) a certain amount of undeniable pressure as your parent to ensure you have great opportunities throughout your life; if not better than what I’ve had.
While it may sound petty or pretentious that I’ve been mentioning our goal to move into “a house in the right school district” here in Nashville, it’s something I feel I need to take seriously. I want you to have exposure to the best education and technology as I reasonably can.
I was one of the first in my family to get a college degree; that was a pretty big deal. But these days, it seems the 4 year college degree is now the high school diploma of 1981, the year I was born.
In other words, I realize for you to really get ahead in your career, Mommy and I are responsible for making sure we help you take advantage of the social opportunities you encounter along the way; as well as the ones you purposely seek out along the way.
This new infographic below, “Success is Not Just Hard Work — Your Social Opportunities Could Shape your Future,” points out some of the social opportunities that can really enhance your future and career:
Environment, technology, finances, culture, and lifestyle.
Now that I really think about it, these 5 particular elements are crucial to furthering your career.
For example, you can have a college degree with an MBA, but if you’re not extremely familiar with the culture you live in, or if you don’t live off a strict budget, you can still totally be set back.
So I take it upon myself, as your dad, to help you obtain a healthy balance of these social opportunities.
After all, the school system (as well as most universities) don’t value the importance of teaching their students how to do a personal budget.
But coming from your Mommy and Daddy, who just a few years ago were $58,000 in debt, and who are now in the positive enough to be “snowballing” the down payment for our new house, I promise we will teach you the value of a budget.
I agree with the title of the infographic: Success is not just hard work.
We’ll teach you everything we know, Son.
Source: SocialWorkDegreeGuide.com
3 years, 8 months.
Dear Jack,
I’ve been mentioning to you about our family’s plans to move out of our townhouse and into “a real house with a yard and one that’s in the right school discrict.” (That’s important here in Nashville.)
After having owned our townhouse for 6 years now, we are finally at the point at which we could sell it and actually make a profit.
For now it’s sort of a waiting game, as we continue to build our savings after having gone debt-free a year ago. Meanwhile, the prices in the neighborhoods we are considering moving to are now affordable… but how long?
The paradox: The longer we wait to move from our townhouse (as we continue to put more in savings for the down payment on our next house and watch the value of our townhouse continue to rise), the more likely the prices will also rise on the house we want to move into.
When should we move? We’ve got our sights on early next year.
This brand-new infographic below does a great job explaining which option is better, renting or owning. While it doesn’t relate to us in that we already own our townhouse instead of renting it, it does relate in helping me personally see that by owning it 7 years makes it more of an investment than selling it sooner.
Ten years would be ideal, but again, we have to keep watch on prices of the neighborhoods we’re interested in.
It’s hard to imagine what it will be like actually moving into the house that our family plans to live in for the rest of your childhood.
We’ve been working towards this goal for a while now.
I remember back in the days when it seemed the value of our townhome would stay in the negative forever.
But we’ve worked hard to pay off our debts, save our money, and keep a close eye on what’s going on out there.
Maybe by early next year…
Love,
Daddy
Infographic courtesy of SpareFoot.
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