Back-to-School, Socks, and Awkward Handshakes

Parenting guilt trips, management hot takes, and why water apparently isn’t hydrating anymore.

School’s back in session, which means every morning is a struggle bus of waking up all the kids way too early and hectically trying to get them out the door while also getting them fed, dressed, brushed, etc. It’s fucking chaos, and it’s making me miss the different flavor of summer chaos.

It’s off-season for paddling, so don’t expect a ton of updates there (you’re welcome?). My club is hosting a fundraising event on September 20th; if you know anyone who could donate or sponsor, let me know!

OK - let’s do this…

Parent-Teacher Conferences = Guilt Trips for Adults

Parent-teacher conferences are basically performance reviews for parents. You go in hoping for a quick “your kid is doing fine, and is functioning the way kids should be...” but instead the focus is mostly on test scores, missing assignments, and (in my case) class disruptions.

By the end, I’m completely burnt and thinking more about how broken the school system is and how it just wants to make test takers and multiple choice fillers than actual critical thinkers. Maybe I’m the problem...

Every Kid Leaves One Sock

Speaking of kids being kids... How is it that every single kid who comes over to our house leaves behind exactly one sock? Not two. Not shoes. Just one ratty-ass sock.

At this point, we have a pile of mismatched socks in the laundry room that I could probably fund some Etsy side hustle. Also, why are my kids so particular about what socks they wear? No, we aren’t trying to get them to wear these leftover socks; just the plain white ones we bought for them, but are somehow different than the last set of white socks we bought and aren’t good enough.

The Micromanagement Plague

If you feel like you need to watch your employees’ every move, the problem isn’t them, it’s you.

Trust isn’t optional in leadership. Hovering kills morale, slows progress, and makes people feel like kids doing chores under a parent’s glare. Plus, if you can’t trust your employees, why did you hire them? Give clarity, context, and vision, then back off and let them work.

If you can’t trust your team to take the ball and run with it, either you hired the wrong people or you’re clinging too tightly; both are slowing you down and making you look bad.

The Case for Management

Some startups love to brag about having “no managers.” That works until you hit a certain size, and suddenly 150 people are all trying to row the boat in different directions.

So many studies have found Dunbar’s Number (look it up), and that humans can only maintain so many social connections. A tiered structure isn’t bureaucracy for its own sake (though I swear some companies love that bureaucracy), it’s necessary to manage and scale organizations (and cultures). Managing smaller groups is more functional, more human, and honestly, more sane.

So yes, management matters. Just not the kind where your “leader” is really just breathing down your neck (look at that callback!).

Awkward High-Fives, Handshakes, and Fist Bumps

This is probably just a “me thing”, but damn, handshakes are awkward. The moment has come; we’re either meeting for the first time or celebrating, and you start to extend your arm. Panic starts setting in... Are we shaking? Fist bumping? High-fiving?

Just gotta commit and go for it, and suddenly I’m trying to handshake your fist bump, and I’ll never forget this embarrassing moment.

Wellness Influencers and the Hydration Crisis

Apparently, water doesn’t hydrate us anymore. At least that’s what wellness influencers on TikTok would like us to believe.

I get it to a degree. Yes, your body needs a little salt for electrolytes and other Brawndo-esque things. But the dogmatic opinions of influencers are going too far. Maybe don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater (literally). Water has done a pretty damn good job for, oh, I don’t know, all of human history.

Don’t fall into the trap of consumerism masked as health and wellness. Drink your water plain - you’ll be fine

Search Engine (Podcast)

OK, ending it with a recommendation (AGAIN)... If you’re curious by nature, you’ll love Search Engine. Each episode digs into a single big question; kind of like you would search for a topic on the internet 🤔 I appreciate how deep they dig into a topic and find multiple view points for each topic. Just don’t expect binary answers; these are thoughtful explorations.

Basically, it scratches the same itch as Googling something at 2am, but without falling into a doomscroll rabbit hole. Start with any episode that grabs you; they all seem to stand alone.

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School’s back, socks are missing, sock piles are growing, and influencers are making us think that we need to buy more shit to stay alive. I need to get more water time.

Be excellent to each other,
//Trevor