So... This weekend was my birthday, and as I am now a year older and allegedly a year wiser, I thought I should do a post about all the things (or, at least, some of the things) I learned this year:
1. Chocolate truffles and anxiety do not make a good combination. (Okay, so that's not the most profound thing, but it's the one that occurred to me first.)
2. If you are nice to other people, the world is a much easier place.
3. Corollary to #2: It really is true that you get what you give.
4. When you park your car in NYC, you really have to pay attention to the parking regulations. (3 parking tickets down, an infinity to go!)
5. Freud said in order to have a meaningful life, you needed two things: work and love. He was onto something.
6. You cannot change people, for better or for worse.
7. If you have one friend or, in my extremely lucky case, several friends, who will fly with you to a funeral, and hold you while you are sobbing, you have already led a very, very successful life.
8. Sometimes, a book and an early bedtime really are the answer for everything.
9. Scones are delicious, especially when enjoyed with one's sister in Oxford.
10. Time may heal all things, but it won't do so linearly: the healing comes in fits and starts and loops and curls.
11. When all else fails, put on some really great music and dance.
12. Barefeet on grass, the smell of barbecue, and warm berry pie with ice cream: a combination good for the soul.
Okay, so I've probably learned more than this but it seems like a pretty solid list. And lastly, this year I discovered a wonderful new quote:
"We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warmly and loved each other."--Hemingway, A Moveable Feast
Amen, Hem.
Can't wait to see what next year brings!
--Lauren
