I’ve been doing a lot of work today, but I decided to take a break and do some blogging right now. I hope to get the next installment of my story up today, so you can look for that later on. For now, let’s answer yesterday’s question, which was:

If you could give just one piece of advice to a child growing up today, what would it be?

I got some good answers to this one (I have to admit, you guys are great. You come up with some really good answers!) and a lot of them had to do with making sure you are kind to others, which is great advice that I think everyone needs to hear now and then, not just children. I think the one thing I would say, and I have said this to Sean many times, is that you should try to learn as much as you can in life. I’m not just talking about book learning and what you learn in school. You should try to work with that as much as you can, but you can learn a lot about so many things in life from people outside of a school setting. So many people will cross your paths in life, and you can learn something different from each one of them. It may not seem like it all the time, and there may be people you come across in life you can’t stand or don’t want to listen to, but you can learn something from them as well, even if it is just a lesson in being tolerant. There are constant lessons to be learned outside of what goes on in a video game or on television that are important. People have so many life experiences that you can draw on and learn from, and I hope that Sean understands that. I like the fact that he is always asking me questions, even if at times the questions seem odd, strange or even annoying. The fact that he is asking at all makes me happy, even if he is asking as a joke. I try to impress upon him how important the idea of learning is, that it isn’t just what you learn but the process you go through in learning it. Sometimes that is something that stays with you more than what you learn. To me, that was what going to college was all about. It wasn’t so much what they were teaching – I mean, how often am I going to have conversations about Goethe, Descartes, oceanography and the like – but it’s that you learn a different way of thinking, a different approach.

I admit that what you learn can be just as important, and that’s why it’s so important to ask as many questions as you can in life, try to find out as much as you can about everything that interests you, and even some things that don’t interest you. I used to love sitting and talking with Michelle’s grandfather. When I first met him he was in his eighties and he lived to be 99. When he was born, Teddy Roosevelt was president. The things he experienced in life were amazing. He could recount things from eras most people only read about in books; but he lived it. I think I learned a lot from him not just about history but about life from those conversations we would have sitting in the living room or on the patio enjoying our martinis. That’s what I want not just for my child, but I think it is something all children should strive for. Even if it’s just something little, like Michelle explaining to Sean on Sunday that he should learn more about dancing because there will come a time in his life where girls are much more interested in a guy who can dance (I hate to admit it, but I think she’s right on this one). All those little life experiences can add up to a lot of wisdom.

Okay, that’s the end of my rant for today. Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer and a special thank you to Mena Suvari, who sent me a very nice answer to the question. Now on to today’s question. I was trying to think of a good question for today, going over my notes, and I noticed some weird things happening with the lights in here, which leads me to ask this question:

Do you believe in ghosts?

It could be a simple yes or no answer to this, and those of you who know me personally know how I feel about this. I think everyone at one time or another has had to deal with this question, whether it’s something they have heard from a family member or friend, or something they have experienced themselves. Take the question for what it is and answer it honestly. You can post your answer here, or on Facebook or Twitter. I’ll ask some people on Twitter as well and see what kind of response I get. I’ll post my answer here tomorrow.

That’s it for now. If I don’t get back to work now, I won’t have time to post any of my story later, so I need to get back to it. Check back later to see the next part of the story. Until then, enjoy your day and don’t forget to do something  creative today!