Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Seven Things I've Learned in My Life

I've been tagged! My first meme, thanks to Juloyes at The Accidental Pastor's Wife. So here it goes, seven things I've learned over time.

1. Choose wisely who you marry. I see so many people in unhappy marriages, or even worse, who have suffered through a divorce. This is a big decision, so think it through. I chose perfectly - I'm married to my best friend! I really would like nothing better than to sit in the room with him 24/7. He is so good to me, makes me laugh (more on that later), takes such good care of me. We are completely devoted to each other. It makes me sad that not everyone has a life like ours.

2. Life is simple. We make it complicated. Society makes us think we need more than we do. How many of us has more house or car than we need? Wouldn't our lives have less stress if we had less financial burdens. Do our children need to be rushed from one activity to another. How about planning time in our days to relax, and enjoy one another? Don't get me wrong - I'm as guilty of this as anyone - but I always at least try to be aware that I could simplify things.

3. Put God first, all the time. Lives are good if we prioritize them correctly. God firmly at the top of the pyramid, then our spouse, then children. By putting our children in front of our spouse, we're cheating him/her. Our children thrive when they aren't the center of the universe. When we do everything for the glory of God, and think always of our spouse before ourselves, and when our spouse does the same, there is no reason to worry about me. Someone is already taking care of us.

4. It's OK to say "No." This is a tough one for me, because I try to please all the people all the time. But the world doesn't come to a crashing halt when I say, "I am so sorry, but I just can't do that this time. Please know what else I could do to help." No one minds, and someone else steps up. We don't have to do everything asked of us.

5. Boys and Girls are NOT the same. They don't learn the same. They don't behave the same. They don't think the same. They are different. Even if they're raised the same, they're DIFFERENT. Recognize it and adapt.

6. Family Night is fun! Even with older kids, it's great to have 'mystery night' and gather together for Monk/Psych; rent a classic and pop popcorn; play dominoes; have a marathon night of Risk. Spending time together relaxing and having fun is awesome.

7. Laughter is the best medicine. I hope you have someone in your life that keeps you laughing. My beloved husband keeps our house in stitches. Always the joker and clown. And the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree, because Jacob can hold his own. I'm a very happy woman.

Now I'm tagging you!

Children of God
Dishpan Dribble
Mammy's Musings
Slim Picken's From My Brain
So Much to Say, So Little Time

4 comments:

Special K ~Toni said...

Those were all great!

Julo said...

THANKS! It's fun to learn more about everybody! God love the blogosphere!

Mammy said...

Ok girlie girl, I did my meme. Ok, well, part of it. I answered the questions. I'll tag some poor saps, errr, uh, I mean more lucky bloggers tomorrow. ha ha ha

Mongoose said...

Wow, that's pretty wise. I'm glad you tagged Mammy and I followed it back to you. :)