How about giving a gift just because you feel like doing it?

No occasion!

Most times, we give a gift at “GIFT GIVING” time.

So, there is a definite OBLIGATION attached because it’s something you’re expected to do.

How about surprising a loved one or friend at a NO OBLIGATION time.

Honestly, the gift is much more appreciated because it’s an indication of your genuine affection.

It could be as simple as leaving his or her favorite candy bar on their desk or dresser.

If not today, when?

Hey, parents, leave your kids alone.

That’s increasingly the message from educators, therapists, child development experts and even college professors who say that overly-involved parents are too technologically tethered to their kids.

As a result, they are stymying their children’s educational potential and failing to launch independent adults into the world.

 In schools, kids are attached to their phones to the detriment of their attention and their education.

But some students and their parents argue that they need to be constantly available for parental contact.

Teachers report that parents argue with them about grades and call their children in class.

They expect constant text message updates and even monitor their children’s screens or listen in on lessons when those children are in class.

Of course, most parents want what’s best for their kids.

But, what feels best to soothe immediate anxieties is not necessarily best for a child’s development and wellbeing. (CNN)

If ends don’t meet, here are some thoughts:

2ND Job- If you have a primary job that is secure, perhaps you should try to supplement its income with a 2ND job that can remove the current cash crunch.

If the primary job is not secure or does not offer the potential for an increase in earnings, there are still job openings available in today’s economy.

Scan job openings websites that can allow you to learn about jobs that may better suit your needs.

Could you take on additional responsibilities in your present job in excchange for higher pay?

This may be a way to get more work acomplished without additional employee benefits expenses for your employer.

Lastly, can you reduce expenses at home?

In 2020, the marriage rate was down to 5.1 per 1,000 people, the data showed.

The rate started to climb the next year, and by 2022, the number of marriages had reached 6.2 per capita and over 2 million in a year, according to the report.

In 2022, the divorce rate was 2.4 per 1,000 people.

Although that isn’t the lowest it has ever been – in 2021, it was 2.3 – it continues a downward trend, according to the data.

By comparison, the rate of divorces in 2000 was 4 per 1,000, which means the current rate is a big decline from two decades earlier.

Being stuck in a home together during lockdown forced a lot of couples to face problems in their relationship head-on, Nelson said.

That might have caused additional strife, or it could have helped them lay better groundwork for a stable future, she added.

Changes over the past two decades may also have helped. Therapy has become more normalized, roles in marriages have become more flexible, and people are more used to talking openly about how they want their marriages to work, Nelson said. (CNN)

Over the last 50 years, only a few golfers have ever bagged a hole-in-one at The Players Championship.

On Thursday, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox joined that select band.

It had been a somewhat muted start for the world No. 44 at TPC Sawgrass.

Yet after going one-over par through the opening six holes of his first round at ‘the fifth major’ on Thursday, the world No.44 followed up an eagle with an ace at the Stadium Course’s iconic par-three 17th hole. 

This helped him rocket to three-under in the blink of an eye.

A perfect tee shot clinched Fox’s first ever hole-in-one on the PGA Tour, and the first of this year’s tournament. (CNN)

Thought you should know!

Biological differences help to explain women’s higher longevity.

Scientists believe that estrogen in women combats conditions such as heart disease.

Estrogen accomplishes this by reducing circulatory levels of harmful cholesterol.

Women are also thought to have stronger immune systems than men.

Also, females have two X chromosomes while males have an X and a Y.

The theory is that the extra X in females has a protective effect against harmful mutations. (ourworldindata.org)

So, there you have it!

Jensen Huang is the co-founder of Nvidia which has a $2 trillion market cap.

He feels that people with high expectations have low resilience.

Huang has had low expectations for himself.

He feels that his low expectations, combined with pain and suffering, have earend him the amount of resilience he has needed to succeed.

According to him, it is not the super smart people who succeed, but those who have endured through pain and suffering.

His business career began as a dishwasher at Dennys restaurant.

He was determined to become the best dishwasher he could be.

He now has a net worth of $80 billion.

Do you have resilience?

You’re finally sticking to your New Year’s resolution to exercise regularly when you become sidelined by Covid-19.

Or maybe you’re a seasoned fitness buff training for a marathon, then have to hit pause due to a nasty bout with respiratory syncytial virus or influenza.

No matter the scenario, the big question is how to safely reboot your fitness regimen once you have recovered.

If you had a simple head cold or 24-hour stomach flu bug, there is not too much to be concerned about.

But Covid, RSV and influenza are more serious maladies that require a thoughtful approach to resuming exercise.

That’s because the three are viral infections, which tend to cause whole-body inflammation.

This is according to Dr. R.J. Turner, a primary care and sports medicine physician with UTHealth, Houston. (CNN)

So, be careful!

All my love!

TOM

Everyone and I mean everyone is stressed out these days!

And each and every one of us has a legitimate reason.

To begin with, our national government is in complete chaos.

They are not governing!

All they do is have petty quarrels with one another, just like children.

In the meantime, the serious business of governing languishes.

And how about raising kids and trying to instill lasting values in their minds?

And how about the misinformation factories that turn out lies every hour?

And how about the financial stress on the majority of families today?

IS THERE AN ANSWER?

I AM NOT SURE BUT ONE THING DOES HELP.

Cut yourself off from whatever it is that truly dominates your stress.

Go for a walk (alone), read a book that is totally unrelated, put all of your paperwork in one box and put it in a closet for 24 hours, put on some music and sing to it in the car–anything you can do alone without any distractions for at least an hour.

In other words, let out your stress on your own without dumping it on your family, spouse or co-workers.

You will feel better for having the “pack off your back.”

It works!

If not today, when?