Using useless knowledge to win gift cards makes for a fun date night that just might save your marriage. — If you seek any advice on how to improve your marriage, usually one of the top five recommendations is to establish a regular date night — monthly, bi-weekly, weekly, whatever works. Before we had kids, this advice was pretty meaningless to me. My wife and I love spending time with…

Finding beauty in the evolution of romantic love. — The songs of John Mayer have been my musical spirit animal since he first released the album Room for Squares almost immediately after my high school graduation and No Such Thing became my angsty anthem for that momentous life transition. Say what you will about his personal life/decisions/romantic pursuits/etc., but…

A poem about growing up and helping your kids grow up. — It’s 4 in the morning when I hear your sweet voice But the sweetness is fading, which leaves me no choice. I stumble through darkness as I head to your room Stopping first for the bottle you cry to consume. I open the door and you’re standing up now With tears…

Holding hands with girls and other pre-teen drama on roller skates — There are a few places from my childhood for which I can remember so much vivid detail that I’m fairly certain I could work with an architect and set dresser to effectively recreate these locales when they inevitably turn my life into a major motion picture. One of these sacred…

Just what you need after a long night of shoveling. — *This first appeared in my Tips from Dad newsletter. Why don’t you go ahead and subscribe?* Hello, dear readers! It’s been a while, but I’m back this week with some more tips for living your best life. …

A few tools to make you healthy, wealthy and wise. Or at least healthy and wise. — Well, we made it! 2021. And while hanging up a new calendar might not solve all (er, any) of the world’s current problems, it at least gives each of us an annual opportunity for some self-reflection that hopefully leads to some self-improvement during our next trip around the sun. So…

Everybody loves “White Christmas” and “Elf,” but here are a few cinematic Christmas diamonds in the rough. — Now that we’ve entered that gloriously festive period between Christmas and New Year’s in a year when we shouldn’t really be going anywhere anyway, it’s the perfect opportunity to spend some time curled up in front of your TV watching classic Christmas movies. But what if you finish all of…

A poem for 2020 and beyond — I don’t often write poetry, but this one just popped into my head as I looked back on this year that was difficult for so many. Despite the challenges, I still found myself incredibly blessed in a multitude of ways. …

Get in the spirit of the season with cartoon musical treats for the young and young at heart. — You know what goes well with Christmas and Christmas music? Hot chocolate! Yes…but also? Animation! So here’s a list of some festive animated music videos that will hopefully make your season even brighter. …