What I know for sure after 39 years

Since today's my birthday, a friend suggested I write about what I know for sure after 39 years.  Always thinking about my next topic, I found this idea intriguing, but challenging...which, as it turns out is good for me. Read on!

No one likes cheaters, so in this game of life, play fair. 
It doesn't matter whether you're playing a board game or dodgeball or basketball, what kind of relationship you're in, how hard the test is, or how you wish some aspect of your life could be different - cheating, synonymous with lying, is never acceptable.  Besides losing the trust of others, how can you even begin to respect yourself?

Challenge yourself.  
By nature, I'm a highly competitive person, so the challenges I thrived on when I was younger almost always revolved around sports.  Over the years, I've realized that I find great satisfaction in setting goals and achieving them.  So, whether the challenge has been improving my time, winning a game, eating healthy, remodeling our house, paying off a bill, or finally getting that last load of laundry put away, it's the challenge that motivates me.  The times in my life when I've really struggled  have been the times that I've lost track of exactly what I'm shooting for.

Laugh...a lot.  
I am so lucky to have married someone who finds humor in the same situations I do.  Our humor may be dark and twisted; it may be slapstick; it may be downright inappropriate; at times, it's definitely stupid. But, we laugh.  And thank goodness, our kids are following in our footsteps. 

Look for the positive. 
Sometimes, this is really hard. The birth of my son was one of the hardest days of my life.  I could not see the positive when my baby boy, who I made inside of me, was born with a cleft lip, a misshapen nose, and a bluish tint because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.  Even though the doctor said the facial deformity could be fixed cosmetically, all that registered to me was that there could be numerous other problems involving his heart, hearing, or brain.  Tests would need to be run, and specialists consulted the next day. However, we didn't have to wait until the next day because Ellie dropped a plate.  In a simple, clumsy act of a three year old, I saw the positive when Tate flinched at the sound of a plate crashing on the floor.  After that, I knew that no matter what the doctors and tests said, everything was going to be just fine.

If you don't like something, fix it or get over it.  
Negativity drags everyone down, and complaining incessantly doesn't help.  If you're not willing to remedy the situation, then it's time to move on.  If it's something that's very important to you, then you have to take action and make the change for the better.  Either way, you will have improved your mental well-being (and the well-being of those who surround you as well). 

Learn from your mistakes.
If I have come off sounding preachy, that wasn't my intention.  It has been my intention to share with you those qualities that have shaped me over the past 39 years.  I am not perfect.  I will admit that I've been a cheater, but I've also been someone who's been lied to.  I have risen to the challenge, but I've also failed miserably.  I have let negativity consume me, but I've also been the unstoppable, believing, positive force.  I have become so serious that I had forgotten to laugh.  But along the way, I began recognizing what was good for me and what was not.  I learned that mistakes are a part of life, and you can either ignore them or learn from them.

So what do I know for sure?  I know I have a choice.  I choose to challenge myself.  I choose to fix it or forget it. I choose to play fair. I choose to be positive. I choose to laugh...a lot. And, I choose to learn a hell of a lot more over the next 39 years!