Over plates splattered with shredded cheese, traces of sour cream and shredded chicken I asked my son to remind me of some of the things he taught me at the dinner table this month. I forgot to keep track. He’s a walking Google, spilling out facts every night. I have prom, my daughter’s 18th birthday and college scholarships blocking out any hope of a memory bank. So, in celebration of it being the last Friday (and day) of the month I’m joining Emily Freeman, sharing my random list of things I remembered being an ah-ha moment. Be prepared to roll your eyeballs and then share what you learned in February in the comments.

rb14thingsfeb

1)      After two alarm clocks with math problems to turn them off and my voice from her door frame, we’ve finally discovered an alarm that works for my teenage daughter. You ready for it? Jimmy Fallon on the DVR. She is now waking up to watch the Tonight Show and fully showered before I get up. I guess NBC was right about changing things up for the next generation of viewers.

2)      It is a gift to start your day laughing instead of grumpy.

3)      My son hasn’t discovered the Jimmy Fallon magic yet, darn it.

4)      That saying, “Older than sliced bread,” doesn’t hold sway with Betty White. Sliced bread was introduced in 1928 by inventor Otto Frederick Rohwedder and Betty was born in 1922.

5)      Being spry at 92 years of age is all about mindset and attitude. Note: Betty White.

6)      This is what the luge, bobsled and skeleton would’ve looked like if the Olympics were hosted in New York City. I think it might work, don’t you? Not.

times-square-1564

7)      Giving up books is a ridiculous discipline for Lent. No one does that, especially a writer.

8)      I’m ridiculous.

9)      You can live in a place that you refer to as that season of bone deep loneliness and then return to it and realize how deeply loved you were by people in the midst of it.

10)   Home isn’t a place but the people who surround you.

11)   When you go to the Allume conference and ask God to show you where to sit at dinner, He will make it a divine appointment. You’ll become a Skype mentor to someone he hand selected and be blessed by the friendship in the process. #onlyGod

12)   An ice storm can produce weapons of glass in branches falling from the sky through your roof. It can be an excuse to stay home from school and work at the beach. It can also be the landscape of providence.

13)   The weather can force you to change your travel planes a few days later, making it possible to attend a writer’s conference and meet your agent in person. Woot!

14)   When you can’t think of anything you learned this month, just start writing. You’ll be surprised about what actually comes out of your brain spout. Try it, I dare you.