Sandbags were the reoccurring items I saw as I flipped through news channels this past Tuesday evening. Hurricane Laura was headed straight towards my hometown of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and in anticipation of devastating winds and flooding, gulf coast residents were stocking up on them. “It’s not a perfect solution,” said one man being interviewed, “but the more bags I can pile up against...

“It’s going to be a different year. That’s for sure.” I can’t recall how many times a teacher said this to me. Usually, it was followed by a long list of concerns related to school and the pandemic. It’s understandable. With normal routines disrupted, we are having to do things differently. That can be scary and/or good depending on the memories we help form. Speaking of memories, I had a...

Sometimes it takes a mountain high or valley low to shake things up and teach us a lesson.  I somehow managed to experience both in the course of just a few days.  It was a challenging summer for me.  I was following strict doctor’s orders trying to shrink a vocal polyp I developed in March.  I was taking medications, limiting my talking, using a humidifier, and taping my mouth shut each...

“Kid behaviors are going to be crazy when school starts,” a teacher told me earlier this week. “It’s like the pandemic kicked up a giant storm around Spring Break, and five months later, the dust has yet to settle. Do you have suggestions for the start of school?” Her question got me thinking about three of my nine Positive Behavior Principles and some Covid implications. Modeled behaviors are...

We are going on five months in this pandemic and still I don’t have this social distancing thing down. One would think after a certain amount of time practicing, with continual non-verbal cues from my better half, and red reminder signs strategically placed on store floors, this new expectation would sink in. But no. No, apparently, it has not.   Yesterday, my wife and I spent a good...

When living in close quarters with individuals, you quickly get a sense of their overall nature. Although I often get frustrated with my boys living at home right now, at the end of the day I’m thankful they are kind, considerate and well-intentioned – and given the tumultuous life circumstances we all face right now, that goes a long way with me. During crisis situations, priorities...

“This is one crazy ride,” my son said to me.  “One day I’ll be talking to my kids about what things were like during the pandemic.”  “What will you tell them?” I asked. “That depends.” He said, as he left the room.  He didn’t tell me what he thought it depended on, but it sure got me thinking.   I started to wonder how my sons are viewing the pandemic. Then on a larger scale, I thought about...

Though I’ve purposefully avoided most news coverage for the past few weeks, I poked my head out of my little shell yesterday and was overwhelmed. I read an article about the current plan for schools reopening in Texas – students returning to buildings, remote lesson options, face masks, social distancing… Though I’m generally a glass-is-half-full person, I kept coming back to the same...

“Dad, my friends found a dog that has tags, but no phone number. Can she stay in our garage tonight?” Silence followed. He continued. “You know if that happened to one of our dogs, you would want someone else to do the same.” How does one say “no” to that? And so, our adopt-a-dog-for-the-weekend adventure begun.   Lillie (as we have chosen to call her) is a sweet lab mix. Extremely shy...

Experience is the best teacher – at least, that is what I’m hoping. In fact, I’m counting on it.   Around mid March I started losing my voice daily, despite the fact I wasn’t speaking nearly as much, with my presentations stopping due to the pandemic. After several doctors, we found the problem. I have a polyp on one of my vocal cords. And unfortunately, it’s right between the two cords,...