I am a professional reminder-er and permission granter who moonlights as an artist, author, professional speaker, and publisher of The Adultitis Fighter, which helps people create lives filled with adventure, meaning, and joy. I enjoy Star Wars, soft t-shirts, and brand new tubes of paint. My wife Kim and I homeschool our three weird kids and live in Wisconsin, where we eat way too many cheese curds.
Greetings from Sheboygan, where I can hardly believe it's August already!
Yesterday, August 8th, was Escape Adulthood Day. You won't find it on any calendar, unless it's a Celebrate Everything calendar (the 2027 edition is coming soon!) We invented it because the idea that you can't make up your own holidays is a rule that doesn't exist. It coincides with the launch of our website and the publication of the first Kim & Jason comic strip.
From watching birds to the development of the airplane to the exploration of outer space, flight has always been a source of wonder for mankind, and the paper airplane embodies it.
Imagine a squadron of paper airplanes encircling a classroom or cubicle farm, representing an escape from the tyranny of Adultitis, especially if the paper is a test, homework, or a bank statement. It becomes a small rebellion against taking oneself too seriously.
Although seemingly silly, rudimentary, and unimportant, a paper airplane represents powerful truths. In many ways, the paper airplane is the ultimate reminder.
The paper airplane reminds us that with a little imagination, we can rise above our circumstances, challenges, and limitations.
The paper airplane reminds us that if we don't like how things are, we have the power to change them.
The paper airplane reminds us that even basic, boring, and unremarkable things can be transformed into something interesting and fun.
The paper airplane reminds us that although we might want to crumple up and throw away the things that bring us pain, the more rebellious act is not destruction but turning them into something uplifting.
Then there's this peculiar quality about paper airplanes.
Even children can make one, and they are more inclined to do so than any grown-up. But adults have the ability and skill to optimize them to become well-engineered flying machines. The paper airplane reminds us that a successful life requires both a childlike spirit AND the knowledge and maturity of adulthood.
The paper airplane represents freedom, reminding us that we can’t control life’s winds, and that the truest freedom comes when we surrender to the mighty winds of the Holy Spirit.
The whimsical, unpredictable flight path of a paper airplane adds a magical spark of serendipity to life.
At its core, the paper airplane reminds us that we can fashion what we have — our circumstances, resources, talents — into something better.
And we don't need anything we don't already have.
We just need to be willing to change.
What reminder from the paper airplane did you most need to hear? Share your thoughts with me, join the conversation in The Wonderground, or spend time this week recording them in your journal.
Stay young and stay fun,
P.S.
I have a few spots open on my calendar this fall. My speaking programs combine whimsy, wit, and art to help people beat burnout, navigate change, and spark innovation. If that seems like something your team or organization could use, let's team up!
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Part art collection, part inspiration, and part monthly reminder of what matters most. We'd love to send a little surprise and delight your way each month.
On a mission to help people break free from Adultitis to build better lives, businesses, and teams.
I am a professional reminder-er and permission granter who moonlights as an artist, author, professional speaker, and publisher of The Adultitis Fighter, which helps people create lives filled with adventure, meaning, and joy. I enjoy Star Wars, soft t-shirts, and brand new tubes of paint. My wife Kim and I homeschool our three weird kids and live in Wisconsin, where we eat way too many cheese curds.
View online • Get this from a friend? Subscribe here! Shenanigating Since 2000 | 2026 Issue #28 🍩 Happy Sunday, Reader! Greetings from Sheboygan, where I am ecstatic and humbled to be welcoming well over ONE HUNDRED Founding Collectors to The Collector Club!🎉 Thank you to everyone who jumped in on this new adventure. The fun is just beginning! But fun was nowhere to be found when Kim and I were trying to get home from Fort Worth recently. Every single airplane was grounded by the storms...
View online • Get this from a friend? Subscribe here! Shenanigating Since 2000 | 2026 Issue #27 🏆 Happy Sunday, Reader! Greetings from Sheboygan, where we're down to the final days to join The Collector Club as a Founding Collector and receive the inaugural print! I'm not sure which is the bigger sell - fun mail every month or new artwork every month. Put them together & I'm sold. :) —Mary Beth Updike Twenty-five years ago, before kids, when Kim and I were living on Hamburger Helper and...
View online • Get this from a friend? Subscribe here! Shenanigating Since 2000 | 2026 Issue #26 🚜 Happy Sunday, Reader! Greetings from Sheboygan, where I am still recovering from the Shine On-athon. (Should we attempt that again?) Thanks to everyone who showed up and said hi! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Adults are ruining everything. Exhibit A is the art of collecting. Take baseball cards. At the risk of sounding like Grandpa Simpson, when I was a kid, packs cost fifty cents...