Friday Fun: Santa Clause and His Old Lady

Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

Enjoy Cheech & Chong's take on Santa and His Old Lady.

Use The Holidays To Discover

So the holidays are here and for many of us that means spending hours, sometimes days, with family; many of which we don't get to see all that often. Whether it be with the grandparents, parents, cousins, in-laws, extended family, our own children, spouses and/or significant others an opportunity to do something very special is available to us all. It's an opportunity to learn about these people we call family. I don't mean just catching up on how people are doing physically or how the new job is going....I mean really learning about the people themselves.

When you take a broader look at our time on Earth, we realize that time is not infinite. For many of us the next year may or may not be our last. The time we all have here is so precious and yet so many of us spend our time focused on the things that aren't all that important. In fact, we fail to connect with those in our family on a level that reveals much about them at all. Sad when you think about that sister of yours that you know less about than the woman who sits in the cubicle next to yours isn't it?

Use the holidays to ask the insightful questions. Ask grandpa when he was your age what he dreamed he would be when he finally grew up. Ask your cousin what they are truly passionate about and what makes them tick. Ask the elders of your family how your family came to be and what they think of the family as it is today. Spend the time asking your mom and dad questions that let them be Jim and Janet (my parent's names) rather than mom and dad.

Is this hard? I won't lie to you....it can be. Especially if your a family that doesn't truly know one another. But families should know one another don't you think? So when you decided to really get to know the people who you seldom see but really should know better, blame it on your old buddy Steve. Tell him this crazy Ripple author guy suggested this as a way to pass the time over the holidays. Blame me if it eases the reason for doing it, but no matter what, do it.

As most of you know, my mom has Alzheimer's disease. There are so many of those Christmas afternoons I wish I had back. I wish I could spend that time not looking at the cool loot I had just been given but really talking, really communicating with her. I know she had to have had hopes, dreams, fears, opinions, things that excited her but my friends, I never asked about them. I now sit here writing this post and realize that her disease has robbed her of her mind and me of the opportunity to have known what once was floating around in there. I really never knew my mom and that makes me sad.

Don't make the same mistake. Everyone has a story and like I preach incessantly throughout my BLOG, my book and my speeches and training, you just have to have the courage to ask.

Use the holidays to do some asking won't you.

Ripple On My Friends!!!


Steve

The Kathy Love-Hate Birthday Dilemma

Today my adorable wife Kathy turns 37 years old! So Happy Birthday Kath!!!

But I have to say, I both love and hate this time of year and let me tell you why.

Love it because for a little less than a month, I am a year younger than Kathy. Which I know secretly annoys her but thrills me. I turn 37 on January 14th so my rein of youngness doesn't last all that long. Gotta live it up while I can! Now if I could only find my sash that I can proudly wear for the next few weeks that says..."Look Everyone I Am Young Compared To Her!"

Hate it because as you can see by the calendar her birthday is a full six days before Christmas. That means double shopping and triple the pressure for me. You see I absolutely despise shopping and I am no good at it. I am quite certain she gets that exact same look my parents used to get when I gave them some useless piece of crap that they didn't need, nor want. You know the look....that smile that says oh great how nice but they are secretly thinking what in the hell were you thinking?

Love this time of year because....did I mention I am younger than my wife. Hee Hee. Today she's on the down slide towards forty and I am a technically by the letter of the birthday law a good four years away. Can you see me in your mind's eye doing my happy dance? Well buddy I'm dancing and trying hard to ignore that I too will be joining her on that slide in just a few short weeks.

Hate it because no matter what I do, I can't make her day nearly as special as she makes my birthday. Seriously she is like the Martha Stewart of birthdays when it comes to me and it just plain puts me to shame.

Love it because it is one of those days that both boys try, and let me emphasize try, to be good. My son Josh said to me last night as we wrapped her presents, "Daddy we will try not to punch each other too much since it's Mom's birthday okay?" Spoken like a true four and half year old that wakes up prepared for battle each day with his older brother. Could we be looking at a Harper truce? I wouldn't hold my breath!

Hate it because no matter how you slice it, another year has come and gone and when you get to be our age...they seem to go a lot faster.

Love it because for Kathy it means a brand new year ahead. With all the improvements she is striving to make I suspect that her 37th year on this planet is bound to be her best yet!

Hate it because it means that no matter what I do, a day simply isn't enough time to thank Kathy for all that she does for me and the boys.

Anyway thank you for indulging me in my Kathy love-hate birthday dilemma.

I know she is going to kill me when she reads this but what the heck. If she literally kills me I won't have to worry about joining her on that slide to forty which...did I mention, she is now on!

Happy Birthday Babe!

Ripple On!!!


Steve

My Passion Guest Blogger Post

Fellow author, Blogger and good friend Thom Singer asked me to participate in his Celebrate Passion Project and submit a guest BLOG post. I was honored to be asked and even more excited to share something that is truly a burning passion for me....helping kids reach their fullest potential by believing in themselves.

My ultimate goal is to take the Ripple concept to kids. Imagine what kind of Ripples we could create if we could plant the seeds of Rippling in the minds of our youth! Talk about a tsunami of Ripples!!! Alas...someday. Must first walk before run Grasshopper...or should I change that to Ripple Maker? Either way...you get the point right?

Anyway mosey over to Thom's BLOG and take a read and help celebrate my passion and the passions of Thom and is other inspiring contributors.

Thanks again Thom for asking me!

Ripple On!!!!

Steve

Holiday Ripple Connection Question of The Week

Ripple Connection Questions are a unique way to engage people in conversation. Whether with a complete stranger or someone you already know, but want to know better, using Ripple Connection Questions (RCQ) accelerate the dialogue and deepen the connection. The questions are by design, fun to ask and fun to answer, and can take your connection to an entirely new level. Come on, break out of that shell of yours and start Rippling.

Since the holidays are right around the corner and Christmas is everywhere you look, I find that this week's question gives me amazing insight to the people I want to know better. Give it a try and just get ready, because no matter the age of the person you are asking, that little gleam of possibility will invariably enter their eye. Just like it did for us all as we stood in line at that mall and found ourselves waiting to ask Santa the bring us the toys we most wanted at the time.

So have some fun this week asking this one....

SO WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE
SANTA TO PUT UNDER YOUR TREE
THIS CHRISTMAS?

I hope you will not only use this question this week but will post a comment and let us know YOUR answer to it!!!

You never know....Santa may just be a regular reader of my BLOG!!!

Happy Holiday Ripple To You and Yours!!!


Steve