Life Lessons

#1. Don't sweat the small stuff (and it's almost ALL small stuff).

#2. Sometimes doing "nothing" is the best decision you can make at the time.

#3. Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of a battle, so be kind.

#4. Life is not the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.

#5. Live in the here, the now. Not in the past or the future. Practice doing what you're doing when you're doing it in the BEST possible way. Even if you're cleaning the toilet.

#6. Be different and question authority! Anyone can be a "sheep" and follow.

#7. Most of your mom's advice is very true.

#8. Do not worry. It's never the things that you worry about that EVER happen. It's the stuff that comes from left field, so don't waste time worrying!

#9. Lots of things look different, better, worse, etc. after a good night's sleep. So wait a while.....

#10. Be yourself. Be independent. Be self-reliant. Then find a spouse.

Be grateful for the blessings - large and small - in life. Sometimes joy comes in small packages.

Having a positive attitude goes a long way in dealing with tough times. My son was diagnosed with cancer when he was a toddler. Having a positive attitude helped me to care for my family and take care of responsibilities during that time. Now, my son's health is much improved and I feel like we pulled through with strength and grace.

Find healthy outlets for emotions. Keeping them bottled up only brings about bigger problems. Again, when my son was sick, I allowed myself moments to react (aka, cry in the shower, talk, vent). Then I was better able to achieve that positive attitude.

Just because people close to me have different thoughts/values/ideas doesn't mean my own aren't valid.

Never waste an opportunity to tell those you love "I love you".
It's not something you can say once and have it said for all time.
It needs to be said often and every way you can.

If you're gonna get dirty, then get good and dirty - sometimes a roll in the mud is just the right thing to do.

When messes happen, and with kids messes always happen - grab the camera first and worry about the clean up later. You are going to love those pictures the rest of your life!

I, like Jenny had my only sibling (sister) taken from me when she was 18 and I was 21, it was a long battle with a brain tumor. So, I know that death can happen at any time to any one of us so we all need to be cherished and treated with respect.... yet I'm not afraid to die nor do I get all emotionally distraught when someone else does, I think death brings peace to that persons soul and they KNOW something that we don't since we havent gotten there yet. Do you miss the dead? yes! Does it cripple you for the rest of your life? NO!
I've learned that a marriage is work and love is not enough to hold it together, you must remain active and committed and remove the D word from your vocabulary and NEVER threaten to LEAVE your spouse during arguments if you really arent planning to leave, that is just mean and destroys the stability of your union.
I've learned not to quickly judge someone. The more you judge the more you end up feeling judged yourself.... you can cripple yourself completely by judging others.... it always comes back on you, always.
I've learned that being kind and smiling even when you are feeling disgust and hatred for someone, will always make you feel better.
I know that I sleep much better at night if I pray more, and worry less.
Do not worry about things that havent happened yet, just prepare for them.
Worry is a wasted emotion, it means nothing and it accomplishes nothing.
Switch worry to prayer and it becomes a life changing experience.
I've learned that you can raise two kids on a tight income and nothing else but love and support and they can grow and thrive and make a 6 figure income and will be there for their momma when she needs them.
Good thought provoking question L. ;)

1) Life is what you make it and every day we are given another chance to embrace what we have or a change it into something better.
2) No one can save you from yourself and no one else can make you happy. You do these things for yourself.
3) In the grand scheme, most of our day to day worries do not amount to much, so don't sweat the small stuff.
4) There are many ways to get the same task done and there is rarely a single correct way that works for everyone. So, accept the beauty of diversity.
5) When we live life to its fullest, we are experiencing it - it is important to live in the moment and fully appreciate the now.
6) Nothing fills our memories more than the time spent with the ones we love. So, don't take it for granted.

Lastly, inspiration sometimes comes in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times. Keep your eyes and ears open and it will come to you.
Happy Birthday,
C.

Respect your husband.
Make time for your family.
Write a list.
Never rent a storage unit. If you aren't using it, get rid of it.
Stay away from fast food.
Don't be afraid to make a big move.

I live my life based on two golden rules. #1- Do onto others as you would others do onto you. #2- What goes around comes around.
If someone does or says something negative to me I remember that it has nothing to do with me and to let karma take care of them.
I also believe that the most important thing in this life, above all else, is that you can look yourself straight in the eye and know that you lived that day with honesty, love, and compassion. Not only for other people, but for yourself as well.
I also have come to realize that we are not our thoughts and feelings; our true authentic self is the awareness behind those thoughts and feelings, and we have the power to change and affect what happens in our lives.
I wish you all the happiness in the world. Take care.
P.S. A great book to read is "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle.

In my own experience (some may disagree) Life lesson #1: You can only ever depend on yourself. This became so ever apparent with the pregnancy of my first son. My grandparents and sister shunned me, only because they thought I was too young to be married and having a child. At a time in my life where I needed support the most, most people who I thought cared tore themselves away from me and my situation. I took matters into my own hands and cut off people who I thought were going to be toxic to me and my family, and did things on my own with my husband instead of worrying about what others thought. I hope this inspires you to know that you're strong, even when you may doubt yourself! Good luck :)

Hello,

Life Lessons mean we should learn from them and move on. Don't dwell in the past, but look to the future and what it holds for you. If you think and speak positive, it will began to become apart of who you are and you will feel the results. Surround yourself around people that add to your life and not subtract from you. Do some soul searching to see if you are really doing things that you love because when you do things that you love, there's no time to sweat the small stuff. Lastly, go to a spa and treat yourself, you were blessed to see another birthday so celebrate yourself!

I have just recently learned that is matters who you allow to speak into your life, meaning that it is so important who you spend major time with. If you spend time with negative people that will infect you and if you spend time with postive people that will affect you. I have learned that i have to choose to change by making different choices and so much more....

I've only heard of one man that never made a mistake. I celebrate his birthday around Christmas time. So if someone I know makes a mistake and does something against me or to hurt me, I do my best to forgive and forget. Its especially important to forget after forgiving.

If a spouse cheats once, it doesn't mean they will do it again. See paragraph above.

A good marriage can be improved with kindness and consideration and putting your spouse first. (Likewise, a "bad" marriage can be improved the same way.) As you are kind to them, they will be kind to you. Occasionally, when you do something nice for your spouse that you really didn't want to do, but that they really liked, ask them, "Do you know why I (what you did) for you?" Listen to their answer. Then tell them, "Because I love you!"

Children do better with disipline than without it. When you disipline your children, wait a while after the disipline, and then give them a hug and tell them you love them. Tell your children you love them on a regular basis.
Look for something your kids do that is praise worthy. Praise them at least once a week for something they've done well. (The same thing goes for your spouse!) Show your spouse your attitude of gratitude.

Children learn responsibility by doing assigned chores and assigned homework. If you do your children's homework or don't have them do their chores because you can do it so much quicker than them, you teach them the world owes them a living.

Let your children see you loving your spouse. Let your children see you doing things for your spouse. Your children are more likely to pick a good, kind, respectful spouse, if you treat your spouse the same way. I wanted to give my kids good marriages. They saw me go around and open the car door for my wife and offer her my hand whenever we went someplace. They saw me open building doors for my wife. They heard me tell my wife, "I love you!" on a regular basis. They saw the flowers I gave my wife many times when there wasn't an occasion where flowers were expected (Expected days? Valentines day, Mother's day, Birthday, anniversaries, etc.).

never, Never, NEVER allow teasing in your family. Teasing usually gets carried away and the result is hate, anger, and bad feelings.

Send 10% less than you make. Save and invest the 10% for your old age.

Cook for your family. Teach your children how to cook and shop wisely. Making a cake from scratch doesn't mean buying a cake mix, and adding a couple of eggs, oil and water and putting it in the oven. Cooking your own food saves LOTS of money!!!

Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

Good luck to you and yours.

Hello, I've always love my family and friends with an open heart and mind. I lost my husband of 43 years, suddenly last March. My life lesson would be to tell the people you love that you love them. Compliment them often. I went on a road trip with one of my sisters recently to see our parents and siblings. It was the most rewarding experience I have ever had. The only disappointing thing was that one sister left town to go on a motorcycle trip and came back on the last night. She has made comments about my husband's death which have been hard for me to overcome, so it was probably best that she wasn't there. I wouldn't want to say the wrong thing.
K. K.

Most of Mom said, was right.

Mine may be a bit different.
#1-Obedient women have never made history. Don't be afraid to question "authority" and make your OWN decision, even if it's going against the grain.
#2- If he beats you once he will beat you again. Get out. (hmmm...can you tell that I have had a rough go of it?)
#3-If he cheats once he will cheat again. Get out.
#4-take a deep breath when in traffic. Even if you are late! There is NOTHING you can do to make the other cars go faster (this one helps A LOT for me. It's so much safer to realise I can't get where I need to go any faster than that jerk-off that is in front of me zipping through the traffic dangerously!)
#5 - I am MUCH stronger than I ever thought possible. I have made it through a seriously abusive relationship, through being a single mother, through a horrible car accident that left my son in the hospital on life support for a month and in recovery for another month, and through some serious money issues! We have made it through prayer, support and with help of family.
#6-If you don't tell your husband exactly what you want/need...then you are going to get what he THINKS you want/need!! haha

I have learned never to say "never" because usually when I do, God has a different plan.

Also, be kind with your thoughts and advice toward others, you never know what it is really like to step in someone else's shoes. I learned this the hard way with depression. I used to think depressed people just needed to do "something" that they weren't already doing, whether exercise, changing their attitude, "getting right with God", etc. Then I went through a horrible biochemical depression/panic disorder myself after a medical trauma. I tried everything I could do, and nothing helped for a very long time. You would not believe the stuff people suggested I do, which some of it I tried only to produce worse results. Anyway, it has changed my whole perspective about how I perceive others and their individual quirks, struggles, etc. It also made me much more sensitive to one of my children who tends to get more anxious about things than the rest of us.

I learned really young that anyone can be taken at anytime or when it's your time it's your time... you see I lost my brother over 20 yrs ago. He was only 9 yrs old (I was 13). It took a long time to deal with his death, but I have managed to find my "peace" with it.

I also, agree with Victoria B... it is hard to depend on other people. I'm kinda learning that lesson right now. Along with the ones - don't help other people & don't trust others. This lesson really sucks - cause it's hard for me to not help people, but I am being burned really bad by helping someone out. And the fire is still burning this time :(

I hope you find your inspiration you need!

My life lessons have been few. Since being married (7 years) I have realized that marriage and parenthood (2 boys 6 & 3) are supposed to be challenging, not like on TV the way I believed it to be. I always thought that if your with the "right" person marriage is easy (maybe a few small hiccups).
I have recognized recently how much I have grown after visiting my mom and noticed for the first time the things I no longer do, which I learned from her. She is pessimistic and a bit of a victim, which my husband has been telling me for years (that I do the same thing) I have
been working on these things and didn't see how I've grown beyond those negative states until I basically saw myself in mother.
So to sum it up, I think suffering and difficulties can lead to growth, much like the coal that under allot pressure becomes a diamond.
We need a new perspective a more positive out look. When things are hard do we run away or deal with them head on and become stronger, better women because of that?

Oh so many...I can't think of good ones right now...how about "life is what *YOU* make it...so make it a good one"...and my personal fav to share (I used to be a therapist)..."your child hood is OVER, it may still affect you, but how much are you willing to LET it?"