My Potpourri of Life Lessons

My whole world has been rocked (not completely flipped upside down, really & not necessarily bad by any means -- certainly some good) a time or two over the past few months.

And when I say "my whole world", yes, I mean just about every aspect of my life was jostled in some fashion: family, extended family, close friends, new friends, old friends, children, childcare, Shad's work, my work, Mom's work, Dad's work, siblings' work, diet, physical health, mental health, morals, God, church, money, taxes, ... you name it.

And here, my friends, are a few things I have learned:

1. Listen. Tame your tongue.
2. Don't deprive yourself of "fun" food. Chances are, you'll binge & feel worse anyway.
3. Encourage others. How might you want to feel in their situation?
4. Don't jump to conclusions. Relax. Your parents are who you suspected, just a little slower. We'll all end up that way some day.
5. Make your own trail mix.
6. Put yourself in someone else's shoes. What may be easy for you is hard for someone else. Have some compassion.
7. God forgives, however he may not remove the consequences of a choice you made.
8. Learn how to do cartwheels because some day you may just want to do them.
9. Evaulate your associations. Don't be influenced by losers. Influence losers.
10. Let your life be an example to others by your actions, not your words.
11. Share the gifts God gave you: the tangible ones & the non-tangible ones.
12. Ugandan men like their women fat, like their cows.
13. Children are precious. Their teachers are too.
14. Prioritize, don't procrastinate.
15. Don't dwell on the past. People change. Things change. Circumstances change.
16. It's okay to slow down & just love on those you love. Dinner can wait.
17. Contact an old friend. You'll probably laugh.
18. Make things simple. Presentation is all about confidence, whether it be the outfit you're wearing or the salad you're bringing to dinner.
19. It's not about showing up to the funeral, it's about the friend you were when they were here.
20. Have a glass of wine with someone ... over the phone.

These are all lessons I have taken away from the events of the course of the last few months. I find value in those lists that 90-year-old ladies put together after a long life of wisdom & experience. The last thing I want you all wondering is:

"oooh, I wonder if she was referring to me?"
or
"I wonder if she's subliminally trying to tell me something through her blog."
or
"oooh, I bet she wrote that because she said something she regrets."
or
"oooh, she must've binged & gained 10 lbs."
or
"oooh, what in the world did her parents do?"
or
"poor girl, she must really struggle with her geriatric parents."
or
"I bet she binged on trail mix."
or
"I wonder what's so hard"
or
"what consequence did God not remove?"
or
"how do you not know how to do a cartwheel?"
or
"am I a loser? who's the loser?"
or
"I wonder if she's considering moving to Uganda because of the trail-mix binging incident?"
or
"uh oh, I wonder what she forgot to do."
or
"oooh, I wonder who she contacted."
or
"wow, I wonder what time she ate dinner."
or
"what was wrong with her salad that she brought to our house for dinner that night?"
or
"who died?"
or
"I bet she's an alcoholic & the only reason she's calling someone is because she doesn't want to be drinking alone."

Just LISTEN to me, go practice some cartwheels, call an old friend & have a glass of wine with them while discussing how crazy your parents are, encourage each other to encourage losers & snack on some homemade trail-mix before booking your flight to Uganda. ... & perhaps I'll see you there!