Biggest Lesson You've EVER Learned?

Everything is temporary.

Note to self, add Indiana to the list of states not to drive in in an improperly titled car. :p

Here they would not impound, you would get a really nice ticket on top of your speeding but nothing major. I suppose it would cost you an additional 100 to 150. My husband is from Illinois, I make sure every I is doted before I cross that river. Yikes! it is other world.

Oh, my son did what you did, that is why I know what happens here. Actually if he hadn't been going through that specific muni he would have got a warning. We are nice people here in Missouri. :)

I have done a lot of stupid things, including forgetting my water bill. There is nothing more delightful that turning on your water and realizing.....

My daughter forgot to pay a moving violation that went warrant. She got a drive to Clayton in a car with two cops that just loved her dad. She hates her dad most of the time so you can just imagine that fun.... We laugh about it now. If anyone here thinks I am dramatic you haven't met my daughters. They have taken my drama and honed it into a craft. :p

I know there is like a million more stories but I can't come up with them now. Hope the few I remembered help.

Oooh, that sucks about your car! What a bummer! :-/

I have been a SAHM for a week now (laid off from work) and it has become crystal clear to me that life is WAY too short to put up with a hugely stressful job that consumes my every waking moment (and invades my sleeping moments, too), just because I make a lot of money at it. It's like I'm a completely different person without that level of stress that I used to have on a daily basis. I'm more patient with my kids, I'm able to take joy in just being with them, listening to them talk, not having to answer my phone 24/7. I can sleep now without waking up 5 times per night in a cold sweat, thinking about things at work that need my attention. Life is too short to spend most of your time doing things you hate. The money isn't worth it. Life lesson.

My biggest lesson is that I really don't have to be perfect. My mom once told me that "A smart man learns from his mistakes, but a wise man learns from other's mistakes." That sounds good and is true, but I have learned that from my mistakes, comes wisdom. So many of us lack wisdom because we are afraid of pain or to make mistakes. We don't take risks. I have weaknesses and some I may just be stuck with, but I don't have to identify with them, or let them identify me. I am easier on my poor kids too. Can you imagine a mom who expects perfection? My mistakes are never wasted. Like the good Italian cooks in my family who didn't waste anything, but found some way to use it. The most unfortunate thing about your incident is the financial hurt, but otherwise you are still the good person you were before. God is that good Italian cook and will bring good of it.

one lesson i learned on here...i don't have thick enough skin for people to hear what i "really" think sometimes. kinda stinks but that's okay...being nice is always better anyway :) it has helped me be a better person i think.

i learned a lot from the couple small tickets i have had. i do not EVER speed in a school zone, i always stop completely at a stop sign, and i never speed while passing someone, no matter how stupid they are driving. i slow down so they will get away from me, first. got nailed on all three of those. my only 3 tickets ever.

(knock on wood!) :)

i have learned that i don't have to be friends with everyone i work with, because i'm not there to make friends. i'm there to succeed, therefore taking care of my family. if my "friends" at work are getting in the way of that (too much chitchat, being snarky and gossipy, etc, endangering my position) i DON'T need them. being "cool" isn't worth being a crappy employee and not doing right by my family. my family always comes first and is what it is all about.

i have learned that someone living a life of weakness isn't something i hold a grudge for...but living a life of hate is. still working on learning how to forgive that one.

Funny lesson....don't cut corners too close in a parking garage. Cement corners REALLY hurt your car. :(

Serious lesson....never ignore my gut instinct. Whenever I do I regret it. First/gut instinct is always right.

So sorry about your car and embarrassment. The worst that's happened to me with driving and cops was this past June. I rolled thru a stop sign and had no license on me (I live 1 mile from the school where I was picking up my girls and purposely left purse at home...dumb). Anyway...he put on his blues as I was around a bunch of moms loading their kids in their cars. No way in hell was I going to pull over RIGHT there!! I put on my blinker and crept along the side of the road until I was out of view. Can you believe he only gave me a verbal warning?!?! And the same cop pulled me over only 4 months before for speeding! (written warning that time). I also got pulled over for speeding in Nov. my girls are getting WAY to use to policemen pulling me over. :(

You are embarrassed, yes. You did what people do - you thought the road rules meant you "can do what everybody else seems to do." And you got caught. So now you're smarter than you were before.

That happened to me a few years ago. I thought I was so special and so in a hurry that I tried to sneak under a yellow light when it was turning red. I was caught and ticketed, and the officer, who was polite, suggested I go to court rather than pay the fine by mail, because I might get a reduced charge and reduced points. So I did. (I still got points, though not as many, and my insurance went up.) Sitting in court for a couple of hours was memorable. People who thought they were too important to be there woke up to real life very fast. Lesson learned.

You'll remember this lesson, and you'll not be tempted to think your own circumstances are exceptional. Actually, this will help you be a good role model to your children.

Sorry about your misfortune. The biggest lesson I have ever learned is to make sure I double check who I am sending my text message to before I hit "send".

Ohhhh Thanks for reminding me! My registration is expired. Gotta do that before something happens :)

Biggest mistake I made: I was in college and I was staying with a church leader for a few weeks while I was waiting for my off campus apartment was ready. The house was out in the woods about 20 miles out of town. I went to an early moring riding lesson at the schools equine center and when I came back the church leader had left for the day. I didn't have a key to the house and his wife thought that I had already left for the day. I stepped out of my truck and the door closed behind me - keys in the ignition, ignition on, door locked. No phone, no neighbors, no close town. I sat there for almost 3 hours until my truck ran out of gas and the church leader got back so I could get the spare key from my suitcase in the house. I felt so stupid. And I missed my next class

If traffic lights aren't working, don't drive straight thru the intersection unless its your only option. Make right turns and if you have to turn around and go back if its a right turn. I drove straight thru the intersection and caused a 3 car pile up and totaled my car all the way around except the front. Both of the opposing sides were stopped. I got to ride home in a cop car.
don't be embarrassed. You can't be the only one.

What schmuck would give a realtor a ticket and impound their car in this economy? Whatever. It is insured -right? That's all I would care about.