December is always full of life lessons. Whether it’s heartbreak, hardship, triumph, or pure happiness, December always magnifies these feelings. Last year I learned how to let go and enjoy the holidays without expectations. Oh, I need to write about that one because it feels so good to enjoy the season and I’d love to share about it, even if some don’t agree. Here is a taste of a few of the things that I have been learning this December.
This December I learned that:
10. I have gotten lazy. I mean lazy in the way of not doing certain things and just waiting for my husband to them. (Ewww. I didn’t mean for that to happen. That dinosaur up there is an old VCR that I grabbed to try to sort out our old movies to put on DVD. When it didn’t work I grabbed my toolbox and did some magic. Now it works and my husband was left speechless! I still got it!)
9. I just don’t do the Starbucks thing and can’t even pretend I do. ( I love coffee. Good coffee. I can find good coffee at a news stand sometimes for $1. I just want to ask for a large coffee. I don’t need to learn a new language to order a size and pay for an overpriced cup of coffee with pumps of some sugary syrup, etc. I also don’t want to wait in line for that coffee.)
8. Stranger Things on Netflix has made me long for the eighties! ( You never see kids outside playing anymore do you? Riding bikes on the road? Out of the house for hours and coming home only to eat?)
7. sometimes accepting a favor from someone has a huge price to pay. ( Someone did me a favor 5 years ago and every single time I see them they remind me of it. Mind you that the favor benefited them as well and I didn’t ask for it. Ugh. Every single time.)
6. I just can’t help talking to myself at the grocery store. ( I swear someone needs to stop me. If they are playing good music it’s even worse because I dance a bit!)
5. there are still Facebook fabulous moments to be had! ( I recently commented on an old friend’s post and we ended up getting together! I love it! I had missed my friend.)
4. there are always going to be people who laugh at you because you think you have enough. ( I’ve kind of had it with people who think that if they have bigger or more expensive things than someone it makes them a better person. There is beauty in having enough. It should never be laughed at.)
3. expectations lead to disappointment. ( I’ve known that, but everyone needs a reminder now and then!)
2. people will respect you for your honesty if it isn’t hurtful. ( I recently said no to something and was honest about why I said no. I received a great response and it felt good.)
1. sometimes you just have to ask. ( We went to see Hamilton the musical last week. Tickets are just about impossible to get unless you buy them a year in advance, pay a fortune, or win the lottery. My husband just walked up to the ticket window and bought us front row center mezzanine seats (super good!) at a good price. He was able to get 4 tickets just for asking. It was lucky, but we would have never gotten them if he didn’t ask. Just a reminder that the impossible does happen sometimes!)
Rebecca Bryant says
I like the idea of just asking. I always say it never hurts to ask the worst that could happen is you are told no. But then again amazing things can happen.
Emily says
How fun to get to see Hamilton! I love that you do this with what you learned. My husband is the same way with coffee, even when we do go to Starbucks he refuses to use their terms for cup sizes, he will ask for a medium coffee. 🙂
Dawn Nieves says
I hate to admit it, but I’ve gotten lazy on things too. I’m notorious for waiting for my husband to work on something when I know I can just do it myself. I need to get better at that.
Alecia says
I’ve been trying really hard to ask for help lately. My boyfriend gets so frustrated watching me struggle and never ask for help. We’re both figuring it out together haha
Stephanie says
I can’t get into Stranger Things. I watched 3-4 episodes of the first season but couldn’t get into it. Everyone else loves it though!
Dena says
Great lessons to learn. It’s amazing how many lessons you can learn when you take a step back and try to look at things a little clearer. I have recently learned that I have to find a way to balance my life. This was a big one for me!
Adriana Lopez Martin says
I concur with you do not do Starbucks anymore I bought myself a Ninja Coffee systems last year and I can enjoy any coffee I want prepared the way I love it. Netflix has also taken me back to my younger years I enjoy it a lot =)
Uncle Wally says
Starbucks: I wish I had stock in that company! They just opened the world’s largest Starbucks in Shanghai last week and next week here in Seoul, they will open a ginormous two level Starbucks, the biggest in Seoul and Seoul has Starbucks everywhere! Starbucks in huge all over China, Japan and Korea. Having said that: I never have my coffee there. I’m not impressed by their branding and chi-chi grande’s that don’t really mean “grande’s” etc… And i always have to chuckle when a colleague of mine goes “Oh, a Starbucks!… I have to have my Starbucks!” I’m happy for the company and it’s stockholders making the money, but ultimately it’s all a marketing game and I have to say I think a lot of these Starbuck aficionado wannabes are taken in by marketing appeal the same way the same way generally young, impressionable people were taken in by Crocs and Ugg boots (they’re shapeless and ugly!). And if you want to pay a premium just show off a Starbucks logo on your cardboard cup then by my guest! I still may buy some Starbucks stock! (But I will never stoop to buy Croc Stocks!)
Uncle Wally says
BTW: Regarding #1 Broadway Tickets to hard-to-get-shows: Proud of your husband. Many people don’t know that some of the best seats in the Broadway house do not get sold until a couple of days before or the day off because they save them for VIPs who may call and ask for tickets. This happens quite a bit for popular shows and they will typically save 24 tickets until the week of performance. They call these House Seats. If Beyonce, Ryan Seacrest or Robert DiNiro doesn’t call for tickets for his family, then they will release 12 of those tickets for sale maybe two days before showtime and keep those 12 in case Obama calls suddenly and wants to take his family to see the show. Now it’s the day of show and they still have 12 tickets on hand and they will release 8 of those and the final 2 will be released 2 hours before the show. Your husband got lucky and must have asked right after one of these sets was released.
Another tip: If you’re sitting in a Broadway house and all the seats are taken except a few of the best seats in the house front and center and suddenly the lights go out, but the curtain doesn’t go up: you should look down the aisle because that’s when they hold the big stars and escort them to their premium seats. If they took their seats when the lights are up they create all sorts of distractions and people start to bother them, ooh and aah and ask for autographs etc… Once they are seated the curtain goes up and no one can bother the stars. Intermission time they’re usually on their own!
Uncle Wally says
… oh and I meant to add the final 2 tickets will be sold just before show time.
Bree says
I love this. Letting go and just letting life take its course is definitely my lesson. There are things you just can’t change and it’s pointless to worry or stress about them! By the way, I LOVE Stranger Things.
Kristin says
I wish I could say I can’t do the ‘bucks. Darn place has a stronghold on me. Bwah. Just kidding, I’m totally ok with the addiction!
Kristin says
Hamilton was amazing! Worth the year long wait!
Melanie says
I totally talk to myself at the store. I have to run down the ingredients out loud and then picture where they are in the pantry to ensure that I don’t need to pick it up. I guess a list would help, but talking to myself works too!
Sapana V says
I agree, Expectations lead to disappointment and that actually break the heart. It is better to say what you feel and what you want. Less expectation is good.