Things I’ve learned this year:

1. Always buy pets in pairs – they keep each other company.
2. I deserve to get as good as I give.
3. I am a powerful creator of my life.
4. Your health really is important.  When you are sick or hurt it’s hard to concentrate on anything else.
5. Everything happens for a reason, and if I can’t see the reason, it’s because I’m not sophisticated enough to see it.
6. Naps are an integral part of personal happiness.
7. There are very few things worth getting worked up about.
8. Homemade candlelight dinners are more romantic than expensive dinners out.
9. Life is like Midwestern weather – always changing.
10. I’d rather be a participant than an observer, whether that’s on stage, in a conversation, or in life.
11. Good friends are irreplaceable – treat them like gold.
12. Petting a cat until it purrs is great therapy.
13. So is rubbing a dog's belly.
14. I can’t fix other people’s problems, but I can work on mine.
15. Hugs are fantastic.
16. Being happy is cool.
17. There is nothing weak or vulnerable about crying.
18. Too many people try too hard to be someone they’re not.
19. Good grammar will never go out of style – text messaging and ee cummings be damned!
20. This moment, right now, is my life.  I need to do the best that I can with it and enjoy it for what it is.
21. The older I get, the smarter my parents get.
22. It takes less time to put something away than it does to step over it again and again.