This has been quite a year for me. I set out at the beginning of the year planning to undertake 43 Resolutions, thinking it would be entertaining to tweak my life a little.
Then life tweaked me right back…hard. Ouch.
So here, in no particular order is a list of things I learned this year – 23 of them. Because although I am wiser than I was at the beginning of the year, I am slightly less ambitious.
Perhaps some of this deep wisdom will be helpful to some of you. Perhaps not.
1.) S**t happens.
2.) I can survive a month without cheese.
3.) I’d rather not.
4.) I can survive a month without caffeine.
5.) Most people would prefer that I didn’t.
6.) Keurig means heaven.
7.) Forever isn’t as long as you might think.
8.) I am stronger and braver than I thought.
9.) I am not a huge fan of being strong and brave. It is exhausting.
10.) My friends are strong and brave and more willing to put up with my problems than I would have thought.
11.) My family is there for me, no matter what. (I knew that, but confirmations abound.)
12.) My daughter is a rock star. Quite literally.
13.) The corporate world is exactly as maddening as I remembered it to be.
14.) It irritates me beyond reason when it is implied that I am somehow less of an American, or my problems are less problematic, because I am educated, capable of paying my bills, and do work that doesn’t require me to get filthy. Or perhaps my irritation there is completely reasonable.
15.) Just because something is unbelievable doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
16.) I now know the origin of the phrase “Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!”
17.) I also know what it means to give the Vulcan death grip. And now sometimes I wish I knew HOW to give the Vulcan death grip.
18.) I am clearly still as much of a geek as I was in high school. But with better hair and nicer clothes.
19.) Compared to some others in my demographic, I am aging quite nicely.
20.) Kids finding out that Santa isn’t “real” doesn’t make him any less real.
21.) There’s still magic.
22.) The magic is what keeps us moving forward…finding it, making it, believing in it.
23.) When the s**t hits the fan, sometimes you still have to stand in front of it. And smile.
Hope you had a great 2010 and that 2011 is even better.
Or if 2010 sucked, I hope 2011 sucks less. For all of us.
Keep swimmin' 
You are brave. You are wise. Sometimes we don’t get a choice about having to find out these things about ourselves, but you are doing beautifully. I’m so glad to know you! Here’s to a much better 2011.
Thanks – I am thinking if there was some way to skip directly to 2012 that would be ideal :)
You, too, are a rock star! I am privileged to call you my friend. Happy 2011…you deserve every happiness that comes your way. :-)
[…] 14. Things Learned in 2010 […]
Practicing Wisdom Principle #23 may well result in the actual appearance of that oft-mentioned, seldom-ever-seen facial expression known as the “sh**t-eating grin.”
Omg…I could’ve written this about myself, lol! I can relate to sooooo many of these. I was equally happy to see the new year arrive also…*cheers* to many new and wonderful things to come your way :)