Yes, we all wish that we had the knowledge of Life right from the get go, and avoid making mistakes, but then what would we learn? In the same sense though, some things, mistakes, situations, problems could be avoided if we all just took a minute and listened to a person in our lives that may have been there, done it and knows what not to do.

I guess I’m writing this because as a middle aged mother, I’ve been there, done it and survived it. And I hope that some people will take some of the advise to good use. Here we go….

- Don’t live in the past. Look forward to the future. Life will continue running it’s course, and you might miss out on all the beautiful things that are happening right now and later. When you are old and need a hearing aid, then talk about the memories of the past – you may make an impression on a young person, who thinks you are a wise person.

- The good will outweigh the bad. Things happen, good and bad in ones life. But you cannot dwell on the bad things to a point they take up all your energy and space in your head. Focus on the positives. As tough as Life gets and throws a kink in your path, cry, be mad, you have the right to do so. But then deal with it in such a way that you will be able to put it behind you and continue enjoying the great things that do happen.

- You cannot make someone else happy, if you are not happy yourself. If you are waiting or longing for someone to make you happy, then you will be a lonely person. Happiness starts within you.

- No burden put on your shoulder is to heavy to carry. It may seem like it at times, but if that was the case, human kind would be extinct. Don’t give up. Seek help if it is too much. Look within you to find the strength to keep moving. After you have muddled your way through it and come out at the other end, you can be proud of yourself and are stronger and you may be able to help someone later in Life that is facing the same burden.

- Respect yourself. If you don’t respect yourself, you will not receive respect from others. – Respect others. This will get you respect.

- Appreciate the little things in life. We all strive for bigger and better, but don’t overlook the small things in your life that may have big surprises for you.

- Be kind. Kindness goes a long way. Sometimes we are so tied up in our own little world, we don’t realize another person just wanting our attention, a smile or a hug to make their day.

There are many more. But these will be there all our lifes. Take it from an older woman.

But we have a love affair with fall here also. The colors that explode during 2 months are just spectacular here. We love cool Friday nights high school football, early trips to the farmer markets on Saturday for pumpkins,squash and all things cider. And the trips north to see a abundance of fall colors.

I am thinking this will be a short fall season, and old man winter will be knocking on our doors before we know it. So enjoy it while it lasts. I know I will.

I’m in the car and something comes to mind and I think “Oh I should write about that” ” Naw, boring”. Or I see something that evokes a good or bad emotion from me and I go ” Ohhh got to make a post about that”. And then I seem to forget about it, or get over it, and 2 days later it comes back to mind and I say “Nevermind”. So I call it uninteresting.

Some people write with ease, they have a thousand things and thoughts to put down, I on the other hand contemplate of what I should write about. As I am writing this, I have already re-read everything written and changed 3 sentences. Yeah that’s me.

Does one have to have a eventful life and so many interesting subjects to write about to make a few posts a week? Probably not. But I always make it harder then it has to be. Just a single thought, idea, remark is needed and viola there is a post. So get a grip dear, it’s not a memoir you are writing, just a simple post to a blog.

I don’t know. Yup, there I said it. I just don’t know. I can already hear the gears grinding in some peoples heads in trying to rope me into doing something else. But you will not succeed!..I will resist!

I am thinking of making up a list, of things that I would like to do or see. Some say it’s a midlife crisis list or a bucket list. But I am not in a midlife crisis, nor do I plan on kicking the bucket any time soon. I rather make a game out of it, like “Where is Waldo”..yeah that’s what I will do. I will post pictures of various new things or places that I am doing or am, and people have to guess what it is.  So we all stay entertained I suppose.

But nonetheless, it will be quiet around here. Am I ready for it? Yes and No. I mean this is my baby that is going off to College and even though we have our share of fights and there are times that we probably can’t stand the sight of each other ( typical teenage stuff you know), we have our good times, the laughter and the craziness. And those are the times that I will miss. So I suppose it is time to be crazy on my own…watch out now!

I’m not sure, but I don’t think life was this chaotic when my son graduated from high school, as it is now with my daughter. I guess thinking back, it was easier because he agreed to everything that was done and didn’t make demands on everything. My daughter on the other hand, has something new every day. Which I actually just roll my eyes at and say no.

My Mom will be here in a month. She is still recovering from surgery and bronchitis that she caught while in the hospital. So that was heavy on my mind. I just felt helpless not being able to be there and take care of her while she is recovering. But she seems to be on the mend now and hopefully when it is time to travel, she will be full of energy and ready to go.

So yes I am feeling the pressure, but I have some awesome friends who are helping out and taking some of the worry of my shoulders. Let’s just hope by the time it is all said and done, I haven’t lost my mind.

But then I read reports of people in the US going nuts and buying iodine tablets and sensors to detect radiation because of fears that they will be exposed to radiation because of the threat of a nuclear meltdown in Japan.  How scared do you have to be to do that? How much of your Life do you spend living in fear that you actually take these kind of steps to protect yourself?

A big part of this fear mongering is the media. Fear sells news, always has and always will. When reading some of these articles I have to shake my head because they never seem to fail in injecting a paragraph that promotes fear. Yes there will always will be the “What if”, but if we let the “What if” take over our lives,  our lives would be very empty.

I remember Chernobyl. I remember that we weren’t allowed to eat our homegrown veggies and fruit, that live stock wasn’t allowed to be out on the pastures, playgrounds were off limits and any outdoor activity was restricted until a complete assessment of the radioactive cloud was made as a precaution. But we didn’t stop living, we didn’t let fear take a hold of us and sealed ourselves in bunkers because of it. Life is to short, don’t live it in fear.