Learning to Live Again

While I have a month to go until I officially reach my prime, these thoughts keep surfacing and I figured if I dumped them all here I could move on with my day.

A little older, a little wiser. Still just a number.

1. I have learned that I don’t always have to be right (even if I sincerely know I am).
2. I have learned that it requires less energy to seek acceptance & peace than to be angry.
3. I have learned that a sixteen-year-old child has helped to keep my wardrobe honest.
4. I have learned how to smile – and mean it.
5. I have learned the true meaning of sacrifice.
6. I have learned that being a parent is one of life’s greatest privileges.
7. I have learned that what goes around really does come around.
8. I have learned that the term “work-life balance” is total bullshit.
9. I have learned that being honest usually doesn’t make everyone happy.
10. I have learned that I can’t do everything in a day (maybe at 50 I will stop trying).
11. I have learned that it’s okay to not be okay all of the time.
12. I have learned that traveling is my therapy.
13. I have learned how to recognize what’s not meant for me.
14. I have learned that the people that are present in my life are very different than expected.
15. I have learned to find blessings in the hard times – they really don’t last as long as we think.
16. I have learned that the truth never changes.
17. I have learned that stubbornness can get me everything I want or nothing at all.
18. I have learned that the concept of a diet and a bank account is more similar than I realized.
19. I have learned that it’s much easier to love someone else if you love yourself first.
20. I have learned that forgiveness isn’t about the other person.
21. I have learned how to accept a compliment.
22. I have learned that I am not responsible for bearing the weight of other peoples’ problems.
23. I have learned how to “find my people.”
24. I have learned that things aren’t always what they seem.
25. I have learned how to trust the process.
26. I have learned that being a single mom has helped to create the best version of myself.
27. I have learned that I don’t always have to have all of the answers.
28. I have learned that the more I experience loss, the more room it creates for opportunity.
29. I have learned that I don’t always need to explain or defend myself.
30. I have learned that there are no rules.
31. I have learned the difference between excuses and reasons.
32. I have learned how to live with intention.
33. I have learned to keep my standards high and expectations low.
34. I have learned that I still hate losing.
35. I have learned that the less material possessions own, the more freedom I have.
36. I have learned that being alone is one of the safest places I have been.
37. I have learned how to give the grace that I once needed.
38. I have learned how to let go.
39. I have learned that a simple life is the best life.
40. I have learned that where I am, right now, I am enough.