First Saturday in December, the traditionalists will be out in force shopping away.  As for us, we did review several ritual ideas, tradition building, and lists for your approval and review.  We also dug deep, looking for things that made us laugh.  The search continues, but we will make you think, smile, and tap your feet in under ten minutes.  That’s a present we can all get excited about!

Back in the late 90s, I was getting ready to leave my job and start another company.  The commercial Internet was in its infancy, and companies began adding websites to promote their businesses.  My firstborn son had just turned two years old, and my wife was in a Master’s program at The Ohio State University.  We were also in our 20s, on our own, and even with my job, money was always tight.  To launch this new business, I would work from home, grab every credit card we had, and give myself ninety days to establish and determine if I could make it work.

My wife and I had been together since college, came from similar middle-class backgrounds, and met each other at the job we had while in college.  We knew how to live broke, and it wouldn’t be a challenge we hadn’t succeeded at before.  On the other hand, my two-year-old son did not know broke, and as a young parent, there are many things you will sacrifice, so your kids might have more.  That was the most significant consideration I made before resigning from my job.  I justified it by telling myself that one day I would tell my son what I did, and encourage him to follow a similar path, take risks and live life. 

I wrote my two-year-old son a simple letter explaining that the next few months or even years might be challenging for our new family.  I told him we could eat a lot of hot dogs and ended the letter with hope.  When thinking about what you do for your kids, remind yourself; they watch and absorb everything.  They will see if you struggle but work to achieve something big.  If you choose not to take that risk and keep the mediocre job and tell your kids you are doing it for them so they can have a better life, they will see that too.  In my experience, if you choose to sacrifice, that is admirable – if you decide to stay at your mediocre job and remind your kids too often that you did, you will be resentful, and they will feel guilty.

I have raised three boys into men since the hot dog letter.  If you ask them what my primary responsibility as a father was, they will tell you, with eyes rolling, that it was to raise them to be able to take care of themselves.  If that’s your primary responsibility, everything that follows makes sense.  A part-time job in high school, paying for your gas, grades, extracurriculars, and everything in between.  Love’s free and unconditional, but it doesn’t pay the rent; you need a job.

Melissa Kirsch of The New York Times wrote a piece on holiday rituals based on feedback from readers.  A quick, fun read, Kirsch highlights traditions like; making cookies, movie marathons, potlucks, and ice skating.  We have questions about making homemade marshmallows, and we wonder how long it would take to make a gingerbread house from scratch.  We loved the idea of giving someone a $100 tip, but our favorite ritual was the Yule Log; here’s the quote:

We are experimenting with a subtle newsletter format change.  The front half will be news and analysis about top stories, and the back half will be about music and music media.  In the middle, we want something that will make you physically smile, or best case scenario, laugh out loud (LOL).  Unfortunately, it is easier to find news than to find things that make you smile or laugh.  We will keep looking and add whenever possible.

Make Me Laugh… Please

After the search today, we came to this Pinterest page from Susan Williams.  This page made us smile and chuckle, especially If stupid could fly…

A new site popped up on our news review radar, 9to5google.com, and with the release of all those 2022 year-in-review lists that are starting to pop up, another most-watched list from Youtube is now making the rounds.  What amazed us about this list is how much we have never heard of.  We have heard of, but never watched, Mr. Beast; we have listened to the Bruno song and Imagine Dragons.  The rest would be research!

[Music Notes]

We went north of the border for this exciting take on song titles.  Readers Digest brings us laughter and music, or something like music, really more laughter.  The funniest song titles are a fun read and a reminder of how creativity can be!  Dead Milkmen is our favorite.

Words | Music | Art | Unknown

Begin.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

Thank you for spending a few minutes with us!

With A Shout Team