Make Good Choices, Learn Everything.

I don't remember where this sentiment came from, but for at least as long as our kids have been in school, Emily and I have always sent them out into the world with this line. "We love you, make good choices, learn everything". It covers a lot of ground.

As a parent, I have to remind myself fairly regularly of what my main job is. While I love spending quality time with my girls, working on projects or watching movies or just talking while we run errands, my main job isn't to be their best friend. While I would lay down my life for them and try to stay ever vigilant of the perils of the outside world, protecting them is only a part of my main job as a parent. When all is said and done, my main job as a parent is to prepare my girls to go out into the world and thrive as adults.

I think about this a lot, about the kind of adults that I hope Emily and I are raising. Adults who are intelligent and creative and compassionate and decent of course, but also adults who have enough grit to weather life's struggles. Adults with enough self-discipline and autonomy to manage their own schedules and finances and emotions without falling apart. Adults who are able to exist without the constant stimulation of the internet, who can slow down and consider things from multiple perspectives and react thoughtfully. We have some years of work still ahead of us, but the hope is that when our girls leave the nest, they are able to thrive as a result of the tools we've instilled in them.

This saying, this mission, is the cornerstone of what Emily and I are trying to accomplish, both with Wanderwing and in our own lives. We want to help parents teach their children that the internet is a tool, not a crutch, that boredom is a choice, and that the world around them has so much more to offer than the world inside of the screen. We hope you will join us as we strive to teach the next generation to make good choices and learn everything.