charlie’s house

Parenting Advice from the World’s Greatest Coaches (with a charlie’s house challenge)

Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good. (Joe Paterno, Penn State football coach)

Have you ever encountered someone that is so good at lying that they actually start to believe their lies themselves? I always wondered if there is a specific day that they actually choose to leave our planet in search of one that better suits their needs? Or do they just float away unknowingly. I wonder if some of them find that they must leave our solar system entirely, because they found another that actually revolves around their needs, wants, and ideas. They obviously must have scoured the universe in search of a galaxy that was missing a Sun , so that they could apply their version of a gravitational pull on an unsuspecting civilization.

Continue reading sideline parenting (12 of 12) — batteries not included…

Parenting Advice from the World’s Greatest Coaches (with a charlie’s house view)

The superior man blames himself,. The inferior man blames others. (Don Shula, former Miami Dolphins coach)

Q: What do you see when you watch your son/daughter as he/she is walking?

A: Probably a similar version of the way you walk.

Q: How many times a day do you hear, “Oh he/she looks just like you!” ?

A: Chances are, everytime you are seen together.

Q:When was the last time you saw your son perform an amazing feat of skill and said” “Thats my boy/girl!”? Continue reading sideline parenting (11 of 12) — chip of the old block…

Parenting Advice from the World’s Greatest Coaches (with a charlie’s house wind up)

Today you have 100 percent of the remainder of your life left.   (Tom Landry, former Dallas Cowboys coach)

One of the things that has a tendency to get me down about my impact as a parent is “regret”. There are so many times that I look back at some of the snap judgments that I applied to certain situations with my children that I wish I could re-do.  Some were in haste, some where in anger, and some where in desperation. Others were done with the best intentions, but fell well short of the intended impact. I used to mull over these times and study them with great detail in the attempt to limit the chances of a repeat performance.

Now that I am older and wiser, the only thing that I regret is “regret” itself. Continue reading sideline parenting (10 of 12) — beat the clock…

Parenting Advice from the World’s Greatest Coaches (with a charlie’s house turn)

The key is not the will to win…everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important. (Bobby Knight, Texas Tech Men’s Basketball coach.)

Is it always bad if your children lie to you? Are their different levels and layers of lies? Are all lies created equal?

Occasionally, I catch my kids in a lie. They vary in creativity and substance. Sometimes they are amusing and sometimes they are annoying. Occasionally they are upsetting but they are always puzzling. My immediate reaction is to “call them on it”. I mean, they NEED to know how amazingly smart I am and the fact that I am a supreme being in the inner workings of the mind of a child…don’t I? I need to show them that “this ain’t my first rodeo” and although I was made DURING the day…it was not YESTERDAY…right? I have to prove that I am the ALL knowing FATHER and I will rule this family with my mental omnipotence and all knowing smartnestitude.

Me: “Everyone stand and witness the perfectness of me…”

You: “Gimmie a break, you silly man” Continue reading sideline parenting (9 of 12) — let it lie…

Parenting Advice from the World’s Greatest Coaches (with a charlie’s house coozie)

“If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today.”   —   (Lou Holtz, former University of South Carolina football coach)

I’m not sure if anyone has told you, but it gets pretty hot in Florida.

Most of us have come to rely on a new invention called air-conditioning to get us out of temperatures so hot that Mr. Heatmeiser doesn’t bother stopping by for a bite to eat anymore. It pains me to think that I will never again hear his theme song that reminds me of his great power and domination over hot weather, the world over…

“I’m Mister Green Christmas, I’m Mister Sun, I’m Mister Heat Blister, I’m Mister Hundred and One. They call me Heat Miser, whatever I touch starts to melt in my clutch..I’m too much!”

:Note to Self: Double up on visits to the psychiatrist for the next 45 days and lay off the 5 Hour Energy Drinks. Continue reading sideline parenting (8 of 12) — chill out…

Parenting Advice from the World’s Greatest Coaches (with a charlie’s house magillicutty)

“Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it’s because you’ve started to think of failure.”   —   (Tommy Lasorda, former LA Dodgers Manager)

I guess, when it comes to parenting, we can tend to stress out about things. There are so many balls that we have to juggle to make sure that everything goes right. The responsibility can be overwhelming. The financial burden can be frustrating. The decisions can be mind-bending. As a matter of fact, the only thing worse than the thought of dropping one of those balls is the reality of “when it rains, it pours”. Sometimes it feels like you have not only dropped all of your balls, but they are bouncing so out of control that you can’t get your hands on any of them. Continue reading sideline parenting (7 of 16) — laughing at God…

Parenting Advice from the World’s Greatest Coaches (with a charlie’s house flipper dipper)

“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”   —   John Wooden (former UCLA men’s basketball coach)

UCLA’s basketball program has an international reputation of being No. 1.  There is a major reason for that, his name is John Robert Wooden, who announced his retirement after the 1974-75 season (his 27th campaign) as the Bruins’ head coach with the winning-est record in all of the sport’s history.  Wooden celebrated his 97nd birthday on Oct. 14, 2007.

That is why it pains me to say, in a public forum, that the above quote is the worst piece of advice I have ever heard. Continue reading sideline parenting (6 of 12) — write on the walls…

Parenting Advise from the Worlds Greatest Coaches (with a charlie’s house flipper dipper)

Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It’s staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in.   —   Casey Stengle (former New York Yankees and Mets manager)

(double negative’s were a big thing back then , I guess)

I realized that I will be given as much levity as Judge ‘Chamberlain’ Haller gave Vincent Gambini when explaining where the heck I am going with this statement as it pertains to parenting children. I can assure you that I will make a point, and that most of you will understand that I am in now way stating that you should teach your kids the finer points of “bar hopping” and “pick up” techniques.

If you care to read on, I will try not to beat around the bush too long. Continue reading sideline parenting (5 of 12) — picking up chicks…

Parenting Advise from the World’s Greatest Coaches (with some Charlie shizzle, my bizzle).

Courage is not the abscence of fear, but simply moving on with dignity despite that fear.   —   Pat Riley (Miami Heat Coach)

That reminds me of “Wipeout Tuesdays”.

Continue reading sideline parenting (4 of 12) — plan to wipeout…