Five Things I've Learned

2013 was a pretty good year. I learned quite a lot. I'm looking forward to 2014. Here are five of the things I've learned.

# 1: I can't go to a shoe store and buy shoes for my son.

Long ago, I gave up on finding shoes for my son in a shoe store. About a month ago, I ordered two pairs of shoes for him online. And ended up sending both back. Today I made him sit down at my computer and decide which shoe on the list he wanted. You might be wondering why I didn't just take him to a shoe store and let him try on shoes. Having him try on shoes is pert near impossible. He wears a size 15, narrow. Ever come across a selection of size 15s in your local shoe store? I haven't.

#2: If you're tall, people assume you're big.

Yeah, I'm talking about my son again. He's tall, but not big. He is, in fact, quite slim. If I find jeans that fit his height, they're too big in the waist. Most of his jeans are 32X38. That doesn't sound too big. Except that the jeans sit more on his hips than his waist.  He probably needs more of a 30X40, but I haven't found that size yet. You're probably wondering how tall he is. He's 5 foot 6 inches. I'm kidding, of course.  He's 6 foot 10 inches. I've learned to order online.

#3: Write first. Email later.

The first thing I do after turning on my computer is check my email. Or, in my case, my emails. I have multiple accounts. Between deleting spam and reading the legitimate emails, I use up an hour or more. So I've decided to stop that. I’m going to turn on my computer and go immediately to my work in progress and spend at least an hour working on that, before opening gmail.

#4: Take notes!

Ever had someone tell you how to do something and it seems to be easy? Then two months later, you go to do that "something" on your own and you can't remember all the steps? Note to self: Take notes! Seriously. Take notes. 

#5: Let it go.

You get a crappy review of your book. Let it go.

Your friends got invited to a party and you didn't. Let it go.

You did get invited to the party, but you forgot to put it on your calendar. Let it go.

You're driving to a meeting with the radio blasting while you sing along. And you get totally lost. That's what the talking map on the  iPhone is for. Let it go.

Over the winter months, you gain ten pounds. It'll soon be summer and you can get back to walking. Let it go.

What have you learned? What things do you want to let go? 

Leave a comment and let it go.

The late Helen Ginger (1952-2021) was an author, blogger, and the Coordinator of Story Circle Network's Editorial Services and writing coach. She was also a former mermaid. She taught public speaking as well as writing and marketing workshops. Helen was the author of Angel Sometimes, Dismembering the Past, and three books in TSTC Publishing’s TechCareers series.