35 years...Many Lessons

So today was a milestone for me.  That's right folks, I turned 35.  Now I'm sleepless wondering what it is I have accomplished in these 35 years that have flown by.  Probably not as much as I could or should have, but I have enjoyed myself along the way.  This year, one of the books we read for our book club was God Never Blinks by Regina Brett.  The concept behind the book was that the author has learned many lessons in her life, and she shared 50 of them in essay form, one for each year she was old at the time.  I loved the book, and the idea, so I am copying it here.  Mind you, I don't want to bore anyone, so I am going to keep it short, and only do about 11 or so at a time, keeping them to between a sentence and a paragraph a piece.  They aren't in order of importance or anything, just how they jumbled out of my scattered thoughts.  Here goes:

1. Find your Skinny Jeans- I firmly believe that there is good in everything we face, we just have to find it.  When I had my first miscarriage I was really struggling to find something to be positive about.  It was really hard to find the good in my situation.  One day, I was getting dressed, and I realized that I had never had to up sizes during my short time being pregnant.  Now I know that this is shallow and not very important, but at that moment it was something small to hold onto.  Just a small blessing in the midst of great tragedy for me personally.  Now whenever I am struggling, I look for those little blessings, the skinny jeans if you will.
2. Make time for you-  Enough said.  You will be a better person, more enjoyable to be with, more willing to give of yourself if you take a little time to enrich your life by doing something you love.  Read a book, go for a walk, watch mindless TV, whatever brings you joy and fills your canteen, so that you can bless others.
3. Laugh, Laugh, LAUGH- Life is full of fun, find the reasons to laugh, at yourself, with others.  It goes much better when we laugh instead of cry.
4. Just KEEP SWIMMING- Life is hard, sometimes unbearably so.  Sometimes, we just have to be like Dory, and keep swimming, even though we don't know why, or how, or even if we can manage to keep our head above the water.  When we keep trying, even when it is hard, we are blessed beyond measure.
5. Learn new things- If I stopped learning when I finished school, my poor husband would still be eating Top Ramen, Macaroni and Cheese, and Hamburger Helper, rotated every three nights.  I never would have planted a garden, or made a quilt.  Keep trying, Keep learning.
6. Let it go Louie- This one comes from my sister-in-law.  One day I asked her what it means and where it came from.  I was expecting some profound story of untold wisdom.  Instead she told me a BUDWEISER COMMERCIAL.  Huh.  What it means is this:  there are things in life that we CANNOT change, circumstances, other people, things that make us mad, sad or unhappy.  If you can't change them, don't hold onto them.  LET THEM GO LOUIE!!  Your life will be much happier when you only try to control the things that actually are in your control, and let the others go. 
7. Forgive- Yourself and others.  Life is so much sweeter when we forgive and let go of the bitterness that comes with anger and resentment from wrongs, real and imagined. 
8. Find Joy in WORK-  There is nothing more satisfying than being able to look at what you have accomplished and be proud of a hard day's work.  Whatever the task may be, find joy in it. (exception: scrubbing toilets, just plain gross)
9. If you can't say anything nice...you need to look harder!!  We spend too much time being negative and critical of ourselves and others.   If you can't find something good in yourself or someone else, look closer.
10. It doesn't have to be MY WAY to be RIGHT-  This one is a hard one for me, and I struggle with it every day.  I have a daughter who is night and day different from me.  She does just about EVERYTHING the exact opposite of how I would do it.  Funny thing is, she does it just right for her, and that is all that matters.  Now I promise, I will have to remind myself of this beautiful fact tomorrow, probably more than once!
11. Tolerance is a HUGE part of LOVE-  Once, Logan and had been arguing, and as we patched things up, I told him that I loved him.  His response to me was that at that moment, I was probably only tolerating him.  He was joking, but the comment left a lasting impression on me.  I realized in that moment, that tolerance is a HUGE part of love.  Because I love him, I tolerate all his little idiosyncrasies that drive me nuts (socks on the floor, garbage on the counter instead of in the can, the inability to get through a meal unaccompanied by Brian Williams and the Nightly News).  Because he loves me, he puts up with my million and one quirks that really drive him BONKERS (my love of clutter, my inability to decide where I want to go out to eat, toothpaste on the mirror, my ability to procrastinate anything and EVERYTHING...the list could go on and on.)  Why do we put up with these things??  Because WE LOVE EACH OTHER!!  If only we could broadcast this love and tolerance to everyone, the world would be a much better place.

It's really late, and I should be tired, so I am quitting for the night.  More to come in the next few days as I think about what I have learned in the last 35 years.