Categories
children cartoons

Four thousand cartoons and a drone

Cartoon of parents and a boy. The dad says, "Yes, it would make your summer break interesting, but you're still not getting a drone!"

 

This is my official four-thousandth cartoon. At least it is as far as my record keeping is concerned. There are thousands of others in my sketchbook that have never been numbered.

I began numbering the ones I wanted to finish about twenty-five years ago. So that’s about one cartoon every two days. When I began this journey, it didn’t occur to me what number I would reach. Who knows where it will all end.

What I do know is that if you have a large project, It’s best to break it down into little pieces instead of tackling it all at once. Whether it’s drawing cartoons or saving up to purchase a drone, it all takes a series of little steps to reach your goal.

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Categories
pet cartoons

Why kids love pets

Cartoon of two girls looking at a hamster. One girl says, “This is my new hamster. She’s so neat, I notified all the news networks, Internet news sites and Grandma!”

It took a long time for me to allow a pet into our family. In fairness, we tried to own a dog once before and it went wrong quickly. We weren’t prepared, the kids were too young and we went on the first dog our son fell in love with.

The next pet came to our doorstep three years later. The kitten knew which house had the daughter in love with cats. He ended being one of the best cats I ever saw (once we learned how to keep him from destroying our Christmas tree!).

Why do kids love pets so much?

  • When they feel cared for, kids like to return the favor.
  • They want to be responsible. Everyone wants to feel like they can be depended on.
  • We all feel an attachment to nature. Even city dwellers like to know there is a wild, natural world out there.
  • We all want a companion

If you feel like it is time to own a pet, learn from our mistake and do your research first. I nearly kept my kids from a great experience because I wasn’t prepared the first time. Now we have a dog and a cat. And what do you know? Over the years, those two pets have taught everyone about conflict resolution. Dogs and cats can live in harmony!

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Categories
Leadership

Tuesday with Morrie: Five Important Topics

I have been taking a leadership class. Last night, I, along with two of my classmates presented the first half of the book Tuesdays With Morrie. I drew a mind map of the first five Tuesdays Mitch Albom discussed with Morrie Schwartz.

Mind Map of the first five topics in "Tuesdays with Morrie"

The mind map goes over the first five topics Morrie and Mitch discuss:

  • The world
  • Feeling sorry for yourself
  • Regrets
  • Death
  • Family

These are topics you don’t normally talk about at work. But I found through the discussion that leadership is more than getting things done and motivating the office. We bring our whole selves to work and what we think and feel about important topics affects everything we do.

So here’s the question we gave the class: If you knew you were dying, what would you tell a loved one or a coworker about one of these topics?

What would you say?

Categories
children cartoons

What will kids be like in 100 years?

My youngest child with be eighteen years-old in a few weeks. That has me thinking about the future. Today’s kids have electronic gadgets I would have never dreamed about when my brother and I were playing Star Trek in our dad’s old pickup truck. It never ended well for our dad. When we pushed the old Chevy into warp speed, we frequently flooded the engine.

My brother and I where sure we’d have flying cars when we were adults. Yes, we’re still waiting on that one. Now that I have driven for thirty years, I realize, flying vehicles in the hands of some people would be quite the disaster. But driverless cars? Who but Google would’ve though about that?

Will my great grandkids see Star Trek type technology in their life time? Will they grab a snack from a 3D printer? Will Google still be around or will they think of Internet search engines the same way we look at Model T Fords?

Here are my predictions for what kids will be like in the year 2114:

  • Kids will still need a loving home
  • Kids will still need boundaries and they will test them
  • Kids will take the newest, most well-designed gadget and find a way to break it.

We may not be able to predict all the circumstances our descendants will face in one hundred years, but we can be sure kids will still be kids, and good parents and teachers will be sorely needed.

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Categories
relationship cartoons

How to solve the biggest problem with marriage

Man in knight armor says to receptionist, "If anyone needs me, I'll be counseling a couple."

I am not a certified marriage counselor, but I’ve been married for twenty-five years and am looking forward to the next twenty-five. We’ve had out ups and downs, but I am relieved to say my bride has stuck with me. What has been our secret? Mutual submission.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Ephesians 5:21

The biggest problem with all marriages is that it contains two selfish people. When I entered into marriage, I selfishly thought my bride would take care of all my needs. And she thought the same. We had to learn to work together, show humility and to think of the other person.

It isn’t easy, and our culture won’t help. It will tell you it is all about your needs and your desires. That is why the more selfish we get as a society, the more marriage has suffered.

If you are a Christian, I would encourage you to read Ephesians 5:21-33.  It contains some tough instructions for a husband and wife to follow.  But I have found that it works.

It never was just about our needs.

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