I was perusing Facebook today and I found a statement in that little box underneath one of my friends' pictures. The quote describes exactly how I feel these days, and I love, love, LOVE that I found it!! As I am quickly approaching my 37th birthday, which means that I am even more rapidly approaching 40 (really?), I am starting to look at life differently. Call it a mid-life crisis if you want to, but I think you just get really reflective at this age, and you start wondering about all kinds of "stuff".....everyone reacts differently to this wondering, and the quote pretty much sums up how I feel at this point in my life:
"Life is short.....Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile."
Life is short......That is for sure!! I mean, wasn't I just in high school? Wasn't I just home from a mission? Didn't I just get married? Seriously???? Where does the time go? It is flying, and I can't keep up, and I still feel 23, and then I look at myself naked and I realize that is NOT the case, because, WOW!!! Anyway, life is very short, and it goes by waaaaaaaay too fast!
Break the rules....it's okay to do this as long as you don't make a habit of it. I have been thinking about all these rules I have running through my head....make sure you do this, don't do this, don't even THINK about doing that!!!! And there is all this guilt that I don't need, and unhappiness that I don't need to feel, and things I could be doing instead of worrying about all the things I should be doing that I'm not, and all the things I shouldn't be doing that I am. Every once in awhile, it's nice to just put all that aside and be okay with who you are and what you need. But like I said....don't make a habit of it!!!
Forgive quickly.....I like to think of myself as someone who forgives really quickly. Problem with me is that sometimes I forget to "forget". I hope that the next half of my life I find myself moving on. That I can forget the things that others have done that have hurt me, and I can forget the things that I have done to hurt myself. I also hope that the stupid things I have done haven't done irreparable harm, and that those I have hurt can forgive me quickly and move forward in their lives....whether I am still a part of it or not. I am learning a lot these days about forgiveness, and I am grateful for these lessons.
Kiss slowly.....that's right!! Is there anything better than "that" kiss? Bradley has always had this special way of kissing me, and it still makes me weak in the knees, even fourteen years after the first time! The first time I kissed him, I knew I was going to be in trouble!!! I also knew I wouldn't be okay just kissing him once. It's amazing, and it's sooooo great that my stomach still does unpredictable flip flops when he kisses me like that even though the rest of our relationship is relatively void of spontaneity. I mean, we have three kids, and we're old. But those slow kisses will NEVER be old. NEVER. EVER. NEVER.
Love truly.....pretty simple concept, right? But not always easy to follow through. I have loved loads of people in my life, but how many have I loved TRULY? To me that means that I am happy for them no matter what, that there is no malice, no jealousy, only happiness toward them and all that they are. I have loved a couple of people truly, and they are all part of my family with a couple of friends thrown in for good measure. I am so blessed to have these people in my life. Some of them have been easy to love. Other's harder to love, but I think that loving someone truly comes from going through challenges and coming out the other side better people.
Laugh uncontrollably....this is my favorite thing in the WORLD to do. I love to laugh. I love to tell stories that make other people laugh. I love watching my children laugh. I was born of an extremely witty man, who has taught each of his children well. We all have a sense of humor that is wicked, witty and downright dirty sometimes, but it gets us through all of our "stuff". I can laugh about anything, and I'm so glad I have this coping mechanism. My favorite thing is to laugh so hard that tears are running down my face, no sound is coming out of my mouth, and my stomach muscles feel like I've just done one hundred sit ups. That's when I KNOW something was super funny!!!
Never regret anything that made you smile.....Self explanatory. And I 100% agree.
I also like the quote, "Life is short. Get the shoes." Also self-explanatory. And I also 100% agree.
