50 life lessons..

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short – enjoy it.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear your best. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, and then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive but don’t forget.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Just give time, more time.
31. However good or bad a situation may be, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all tossed our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”
46. Anger only hurts the angry one.
47. Never go along to get along, listen first to your heart.
48. If one won’t, two can’t argue.
49. Life could be short. Eat dessert first.
50. Avoid taking someone’s inventory.  Work only with yours.

My boy Quinn with his best friend Earnie

 

My boy becoming a man :)

My son has quickly learned one of the most valuable lessons when you visit the porcelain god.  ALWAYS BE PREPARED.

1.  BRING READING MATERIAL!!!

– Preferably fishing or hunting magazines…

– He’s probably got a few more years before they will be Victoria’s Secret 🙂

2.  Multiple forms of literature or entertainment are recommended as you never know how long you may be in there.

3.  When he get’s a job, he will learn its a great opportunity to get caught up on emails too.

A Boy’s book of Outdoor Sports

This is great for any father to pass on to his son to teach him various outdoor activities from how to fish for trout, how to keep your dog healthy, how to trap a squirrel (or other varmints), loading a gun (safely), to swimming and other exercises…

http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/Boys_Own_Book_of_Outdoor_Sports/

I wish I had this information available to me as a youngster, as I find some of it very informative even as an adult.

While I don’t think some of the topics cover the in-depth knowledge required to actually accomplish some of these activities, its certainly a good start.

this is my lil’ cowboy Quinn Moore.  He has already shown a passion for the outdoors that I hope to guide him to understanding physically and spiritually 

I think I will create something similar for my son Quinn and omit some of the categories that are irrelevant and add more detail to the activities he will most likely find an interest in, particularly in Colorado.  It would be quite a family heirloom to pass along for generations to come.  You never know when you just might not be around to guide and teach him everything you want to during his youth, and should I not be around for everything I want to teach him myself, I can have something in writing to share with him that includes stories of my trials and tribulations as a young man learning many of these activities the hard way.

Hopefully I can get my father, uncles and even his great grandfather to participate in drafting this project whether it be web based in the end or simply a book for him to take on his own journeys and explorations in the wild.

Father’s Day quotes

“Don’t worry that your children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.” – Robert Fulghum

“Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain cool and unruffled under all circumstances”
– Thomas Jefferson

“A baby has a way of making a man out of his father and a baby boy out of his grandfather.” – Angie Papadakis

“This is the final test of a gentleman; his respect for those who can be of no possible value to him” – William Lyon Phelps

“Let every father remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice.” – Anonymous

“The heart of every child beats to the rhythm of a father’s love.” – Steven Curley

“The more a child becomes aware of a father’s willingness to listen, the more a father will begin to hear.” – Gordon MacDonald

Charcoal picture of my lil’ cowboy Quinn

I drew this from a picture I took when I took my cowboy out shed hunting for the first time in CO right on the stomping grounds where I first began to learn about and respect nature, as well as the pursuit of the hunt.