45 Life Lessons

Here are 45 life lessons by Regina Brett of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland Ohio.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10.When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Seussisms

I grew up reading Dr. Seuss.

I loved the story of the Sneetches who thought that personal value was decided by the presence or absence of a star on their bellies and spent their every last dollar trying to be better then the other Sneetches.

I found that that story was not the only Dr. Seuss story with a moral, or at least a few words of wisdom thrown in amidst the rhymes and gibberish words.

As a young poet, I envied his ability to simply make up new words when he couldn't find an adequate one that rhymed. My teachers never let me get away with that.

I have always, even as an adult, loved the quirky stories and have loved reading them to my own children.

Today I want to share with you some of the quips of wisdom and insight so often found in his pages.

.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

nothing is going to get better. it's not.

-The Lorax

.

It's a troublesome world.

All the people who're in it

are troubled with troubles

almost every minute.

Just tell yourself, Duckie,

you're really quite lucky!

Some people are much more...

oh, muchly much much more

unlucky than you!

-Did I ever tell you how lucky you are?

.

I meant what I said and I said what I meant.....

An elephant's faithful, One hundred percent!

-Horton Hatches an Egg

.

I know, up on top

you are seeing great sights,

But down at the bottom

we, too, should have rights.

-Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories

.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.

Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"

-How the Grinch Stole Christmas

.

You're in pretty good shape for the shape you are in!

-You're Only Old Once

.

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own

and you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy

who'll decide where to go.

-Oh, the Places You'll Go

.

The more that you read,

the more things you will know.

The more that you learn,

the more places you'll go.

-I Can Read With My Eyes Shut.

.

A person's a person, no matter how small. -Horton Hears a Who

.

Think left and think right

and think low and think high.

Oh, the THINKS you can think up

if only you try!

-Oh the Thinks You Can Think

.

Be sure when you step.

Step with great care and tact

and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

-Oh, the Places You'll Go

Schools all over the country celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday last week.

Happy Birthday Mr. Geisel,

Thanks for all the wisdom.

Thanks for all the words,

Thanks for inventing new things,

like Truffulas and Nerds.

-Della

Summary of Life, Sunday Post

I am sorry that I do not have a highly spiritual or inspirational post for today.

Instead I will share the content of an e-mail that I received that is good advice, but also entertaining.

Enjoy.

.

Summary of Life

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.

2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.

3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.

4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.

5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.

6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.

7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.

8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.

2) Wrinkles don't hurt.

3) Families are like fudge..mostly sweet, with a few nuts.

4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.

6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.

2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.

4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.

5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.

6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.

7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.

2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.

3) You are Santa Claus.

4) You look like Santa Claus.

.

SUCCESS:

At age 4 success is . . not piddling in your pants.

At age 12 success is . . having friends.

At age 17 success is . . having a drivers license.

At age 35 success is . . having money.

At age 50 success is . . having money.

At age 70 success is . . having a drivers license.

At age 75 success is . . having friends.

At age 80 success is . . not piddling in your pants.

Great Advice

Here's a great bit of advice I got in an e-mail:

.

Don't piss off someone who owns a backhoe.

The Dalai Lama's Instructions for Life

At the end of this year here are some good words of advice.

I love you all.

Thanks for sharing in my life and letting me share in yours.

I hope you all have a wonderful new year!

-Della Hill

I Made This

It's called Ghosts in the Graveyard.

I found this at the >>Kraft website<<, along with a bunch of other great halloween recipes.

I also found this recipe:

(I didn't make these ones)

I used the same recipe at cub scouts, but instead of scary faces with green pudding, we made jackolantern faces with orange pudding.

And I found a bunch of great ideas at >>Tip Junkie<<,a great blog with all kinds of great ideas.

(Thanks Ally).

Thanks to Kraft foods, blogs like Tip Junkie, and lots of trial and error,

You too can be domestic! Ha!

An old farmer's advice

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong

.

Keep skunks, bankers and lawyers at a distance

.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump

.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor

.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered not yelled

.

Meanness don't jes' happen overnight

.

Forgive your enemies It messes up their heads

.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you

.

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge

.

You cannot unsay a cruel word

.

Every path has a few puddles

.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty

.

The best sermons are lived, not preached

.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway

.

Don't judge folks by their relatives

.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer

.

Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none

.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance

.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'

.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got

.

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'

.

Always drink upstream from the herd

.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment

.

Don't squat with yer spurs on

.

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in

.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around

.

Live simply

Love generously

Care deeply

Speak kindly

More Wisdom

Some of these may sound familiar.

Enjoy them anyway.

.

01. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me alone.

.

02. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.

.

03. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

.

04. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

.

05. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

.

06. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

.

07. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

.

08. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

.

09. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.

.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

.

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment.

.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

.

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

.

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

.

19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips aremoving.

.

20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

.

21. Never miss a good chance to shut up

.

22. Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Life Lessons

A few lessons I got from an e-mail from my niece Echo:

.

I've learned....That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

.

I've learned....That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

.

I've learned....That money doesn't buy class.

.

I've learned...That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

.

I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

.

I've learned....That the Lord didn't do it all in one day.What makes me think I can?

.

I've learned....That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

.

I've learned....That the less time I have to work, the more things I get done.

The Secret of Success

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing you will be successful."

-Albert Schweitzer

.

"There is no success without hardship."

-Sophocles

.

"The road to success is always under construction."

-Lily Tomlin

.

"You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong."

-Warren Buffet

.

"If A equals success, then the formula is A=X+Y+Z.

X is work, Y is play, Z is keep your mouth shut."

-Albert Einstein

.

"I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work."

-Thomas Edison (on inventing the lightbulb)

.

"Losing is simply learning how to win."

-Ted Turner

.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

-Bill Cosby

.

"It is not going out of port, but coming back in that determines the success of a voyage."

-Henry Ward Beecher

.

"Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things."

-T.S. Eliot

.

"Flaming enthusiasm, backed by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success."

-Dale Carnegie

.

"I don't measure a man by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom."

-General George S. Patton

.

"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. They succeed because they are determined to."

-George Allen

Que Sera Sera is a load of bull!

I'm not downing Doris Day.

This song was a #2 hit, only held out of the #1 spot by Elvis Presley and a little song called "Hound Dog".

But this song was in my head the other day and as I sang the words to myself I started to get irritated.

Any mother who tells her daughter essentially "Don't worry about what will happen to you. It's going to happen anyway and you have no control over it" ought to be flogged.

Of course you have control over what will happen to you!

You are the one who decides what will happen in your life. We can't always control what comes in to our lives. But we control what happens once it's there.

We have the power to direct our lives and make our dreams come true.

So I rewrote the words to the first verse:

When I was just a little girl,

I told my mother what I would be.

"I will be pretty. I will be rich.

I will be because of Me"

Que decido sera,

Whatever I say, will be.

The future is up to me.

Que decido sera.

2nd verse:

When I grew up and fell in love

I told my sweetheart what to expect,

"We will have troubles, but we will get through

if we have love and respect"

Que decido sera,

Whatever I say will be.

The future is up to me.

Que decido sera.

-

Give me time and I'll rewrite the last verse too.

More good advice

More good advice from an e-mail from Grandpa.

(The additions in parenthesis are my own)

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." (World of Warcraft)

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life. (Unless they happen to be the same)

6. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.

7. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.

8. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

9. Never lick a steak knife. (unless it has A-1 on it)

10. Take out the fortune before you eat the cookie.

11. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip. (I thought it was duct tape)

12. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

13. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

14. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers. (I am)

15. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.

16. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

17. Your friends love you anyway.

18. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

How to Stay Married for 41 Years

This is how.

___________

.

Just Kidding.

It probably also has something to do with:

-Unconditional acceptance of one another.

-Regular affection.

-Communication.

-Commitment to similiar goals.

-Praying together daily.

-Unity in marriage with freedom to be individuals.

-A sense of humor.

-Unconditional commitment to each other and to God.

.

I am sure there is more to it than that. But watching my parents as I grew up, these were some of the things that were obvious to me.

I will always remember Dad coming home from work, meeting Mom in the kitchen and kissing her heavily, with a lot of tongue and butt rubbing included.

Mom would giggle and seem slightly embarrassed, but I knew that my dad was in love with my mom.

That knowledge gave me comfort.

And I think that I am more successful in my own marriage of 11 years because I had them to learn from.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.

I'm glad God helped you find each other. And I'm grateful I got to be one of your kids.

-Della