1,001

I got so excited about my April Birchbox that I forgot that it would be my 1,000th post so I used up the good number. Oh well, 1,001 has a nice ring to it as well, don't you think? I have been blogging since October 5, 2008 when I wasn't even two months into being a wife or a resident of Chattanooga. A lot has happened since then and I'll take Danielle's challenge (since she was the only one who offered one!) to write about things I have learned since October 2008 for this here post numbered 1,001.


I've learned:
offering grace is more important than being right
people are more important than things
staying home with the people I love is far better than going "out"
a messy home isn't a sign of failure
being present is more important than being perfect
listening is just as good as talking
snail mail letters are a lost and beautiful art
you miss your parents much more than you think you will and might even regret those hasty words in high school and you really do turn into your mother
you always think of your childhood home as "home"
I'm not always right
loving people is hard but the most important thing you will ever do and always worth it but you can't always make them love you back
living with a dog that sheds isn't very much fun but I love her anyway
living with a cat that rises early isn't very much fun either but I still love her too
folding laundry is the worst form of household labor, right above vacuuming
baking is my favorite form of cooking
blogging won't make you a millionaire (I never really thought it would) but you will love looking back on your life
I understand less of God than I always thought I did but feel closer to Him than ever before
there are lots of people that see the world completely different than I do and that's ok
to love people for who they are, not for how much I agree with them or not
I have to work harder to be healthy (hello looming 30th year...ahem) but it is worth it
and on that note...trying to learn how to love my body and forget about my "flaws"
cell phones aren't always lifelines, sometimes they are weights tied to your ankles
I have the right to have feelings - but that doesn't make them accurate
think before you send that email, or say that, or write that...
you really might be able to wear skinny jeans - if you get the right fit
I need at least 8 hours of sleep per night or I am cranky (this is on the list of why we don't have kids)
I am a more picky eater than I like to admit
Chattanooga is a lovely city and like most places will show you beauty if you just give it a chance
Clean laundry is one of my favorite smells and I don't like the way it smells when it has been outside  on the line
my sister is a great gift giver - thoughtful and generous - and I wish I was more like her in lots of ways
you'll wish your lifelong best friends lived in the same city as you
you can find a job that you love and that has nothing to do with where you thought you'd be
I don't like to go to bed with a messy kitchen (Oh my gosh, I AM my mother)
God expects us to keep growing, changing, stretching, wondering
kindness takes many forms
I can't be jealous of someone else's life; it steals joy from mine










That's all I have for now. I'm sure I will think of things and add them as I have the time/thought. Some of these are not new lessons, learned in the last 5 years, but they are all things that have really just started making sense in the last 5 years. So, what have you learned recently that stuck along for the ride?