I read somewhere that the 8th deadly sin was busyness. Or maybe it was hurry. Either way, hurry and busyness are two terrible challenges for me. (And the reason I haven’t posted in a while.)

Over the last months Mary Elizabeth and I started to notice some changes in our dog, Bailey (13). She was drinking a ton of water and acting a little strange. She just didn’t seem herself and seemed to have lost her spark.

Well, after I finally got her checked out by the vet (and paid for a couple sets of serious blood work) they ruled out all the typical culprits (kidney failure, diabetes, Cushing’s disease). Before the results of the tests, we thought that Bailey might be “getting ready to go.” We started paying a little more attention to her. Petting her a little more often. Caring for her a bit more. Showing her some attention. Giving her some time.

Funny. She doesn’t seem to be acting as strange anymore. Sure, her joints are bothering her and she can’t go for a three-mile run like she used to. . .but. . .

Could it be that our dog was simply suffering from a lack of attention?

Mary Elizabeth and I think so.

It’s a powerful thing – attention. It takes time and effort.

Man, and if our dog suffers for a lack of it, imagine our kids.

Just something to think about.

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My kids worked up a song for their mom this Christmas. Maybe your kids would like to sing along?

Listen to We Love You Mom!. (4.2mb .mp3)

Keep in mind, we had to write and record this when mom wasn’t around, so the kids didn’t get much practice time! (and I mixed it a lot in the headphones, which isn’t always the best.) Alissa (9) actually recorded the little solo too – she was pretty excited to do that.

I think it’s fun and says a lot of things moms need to hear.

View the lyrics of We Love You Mom! (76kb .pdf).

Enjoy.

PS. If you liked that, you might also enjoy last year’s Christmas gift to mom, a song called Super Mom. It’s a rocker.

Play Super Mom. (3mb .mp3)

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I’m happy to say that I’ve finally got this ready for you and I hope you enjoy it.

Play or Download MustardCast #2
Play MustardCast #2, interview with Charlotte Otter, in iTunes

Download the .mp3 file of MustardCast #2, interview with Charlotte Otter (16.4mb)

This is a 18-minute discussion with Charlotte Otter, a wonderful writer you can visit at Charlotte’s Web.

Here are the questions we discussed:

• What would be your dream writing gig?
• Are you going after that?
• Do you have a plan to make that happen?
• You’re a mom of 3 and wife of a busy husband – how do you do it?
• Is blogging helpful to writers or should they stick to their “serious” writing?
• What do you need as a creative person from your spouse to help you go after your dreams?
• What discourages you the most?
• You’ve done corporate, done journalism – how have you handled the adjustment to staying home with the kids? Discuss that decision and any struggles.

Charlotte also shared some tips and a short story:

• Recommended Books by Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way, and The Right to Write.
• How to Exit Gracefully from a Hammock by Charlotte Otter. (112 Kb PDF)

Update: Added link to Charlotte’s short story.

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I delivered a document to a large global client late last night. Then I worried. “What if they think I’m nuts?” “What if they don’t agree with the approach I took?”

Basically, I was going to worry about it until I heard some feedback.

Finally, around mid-day today, I got the word – key people were really impressed with the thought process in the document.

I could breathe a sigh of relief.

And, it made me feel good. I did something that people liked. It made me want to do more things that people like.

Ken Blanchard of The One Minute Manager fame talked about this a bit in a lecture I attended a year or so ago. He used the example of how experts train killer whales like Shamu. He said, “Do you think they beat up a whale when it doesn’t do what he’s supposed to? No, they catch the whale performing the desired action and they reward it.”

His whole message was on catching people doing something good.

It’s an interesting managerial approach and an even more interesting approach to raising our kids. It’s easy to get caught up in the “don’t do that, don’t say that, stop that, etc.” We jump into action when something annoys us enough to want it to stop.

But when we see good, we often let it slide – or simply don’t notice. It’s making our life easy, so, no need to comment. We simply do nothing – mind our own business and enjoy the peace.

But that’s so wrong!

It’s when our kids are doing good that we need to spring into action. We need to show them how much we love it when they listen, share, resolve conflicts with their siblings, exhibit good sportsmanship, or treat friends in a loving manner.

When we reward their good behavior, they taste the fruits of their labor. And they like it.

Give it a try. Catch your kids doing something good. Reward them somehow – if only some brief words of praise. See what happens. I think you’ll be surprised.

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