The Power of Encouragement

Hey, kids, it’s Dad. For today’s TommyLog I want to talk to you about a situation that happened last week. I was working on a project for work. being new, things are not 100% clicking yet and probably won’t for some time. That perfectly ok in my book, that’s what learning is all about.

Ok, so I’m struggling with an assignment. I was getting down on myself and I was pretty dejected actually. I reached out to my buddy Scott who is mentoring me on the project. I explained to him what was happening. I said I was spinning my wheels here, I was pretty down and BAM…in 5 seconds he said something that totally changed my perspective. he said, “Hey, I’ve been there and you are much closer to the solution that you think.”

Those few words of encouragement were all I needed. My day 100% changed from dark and gloomy to bright and smiling. it’s amazing what some encouragement can do. Kids we need to reach out to someone today, give them some encouragement with hopes it will turn a frown, upside down.

Have a Good Backup Plan

Hey, kids, it’s Dad. For today’s TommyLog I want to talk to you about data. computer data and having a good, solid backup plan. Since I’m running Mac OS X, I use Time Machine to a hands-free, automatic backup, but I also make multiple backups. I use cloud services like google drive, Dropbox and Backblaze. I have external hard drives that I use for backups. I have backups of backups.

Ok, let’s move to everyday life for a moment. Do you have a solid backup plan if things so south? Maybe it’s your evening activities or a vacation.

What’s your backup plan? Always be thinking about plan b!

I love you kids!

LAST Scheduled Big Kid Weekend!

Hey, kids, it’s Dad. For today’s TommyLog I want to talk about a huge milestone in the Clifford household. This weekend is the LAST scheduled “big kid weekend!”

What is a “big kid weekend?”

Well, back in 2002 Mom and I got divorced and as part of the decree, I was to get the kids every other weekend. And for the past 16+ years, I have had the big kids in my home every other weekend, like clockwork.

And this coming Friday, Tommy III leaves for college, thus ending the 16 year run of “Big Kid Weekend.”

I’m sad, really sad, but, I’m SO EXCITED to watch each of my kids soar!

Thank you for each of the amazing weekends we have had together.

I love you kids dearly!

Moving On – Change is Hard!

Hey Kids, It’s dad and for today’s Tommy Log I want to talk about change. Moving to a new home is hard. Change is hard!

I promise you the better we handle and embrace change the stronger a leader you will be. One of the signs of a good leader is how well they handle change.

Change is really hard! Great things await you!

Showing Strength Like Khyree

Hey, kids, it’s Dad. For today’s TommyLog I want to talk to you about cousin Khyree. We had the opportunity of spending almost a full week with Khyree on our trip in Boise, ID. What an amazing 10-year-old he is. Khyree isn’t your average boy with your average life. He has had lots of struggles and pitfalls in his short life. But this is an about struggles or pitfalls. This is all about success!

One day last week we spent a day at Wahoos, a sports park that has go-carts and batting cages and bumper cars and climbing and jumping and running and laser tag kind of things. One area that Kyrie excelled was the ropes area. There is this ropes course where you get put into a big five-point harness and you’re hooked into this maze and you just climb and explore tethered buy a 1-inch rope. Emma and Drew said no way we’re not going on that but Khyree just took off. 2, 3, 4 and even 5 stories above the floor Khyree was moving from place to place. I am so proud of him. It was amazing to watch him work. To figure it out to be able to move from place to place and to strategize how he was going to problem solve up there.

We need to be more like cousin Khyree. We need to overcome obstacles and to make the best of every situation. We need to tackle our fears head-on and overcome them. What an awesome example he is!