Lessons I Have Learned – Turning 40 Edition

Well, I made it.  I finally crossed into my 40’s.  Some people look at this time with a big “ARGHH” that Charlie Brown would envy.  I, on the other hand, have always been an old guy.  Even at 18, I wanted to be older.  I didn’t try smoking cigarettes, I smoked a pipe.  I have never done the things one is supposed to do.  In college, I was the one giving everyone rides and charging gas, not getting drunk – I was after a profit, not a high.  In my twenties, I was finding the love of my life, having kids, and finding my niche, not “finding my inner self.”

So, now that I have crossed over a threshold, I thought I would take a few minutes to retrospect on what has gone well and what hasn’t (but I will spare you the “what I am going to better next time”) and hopefully make it a bit humorous.  Some items have an age next to them.  I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.

1. It is impossible to lean forward while peeing out of a second floor unfinished opening and not ending up with mud on your face.
2. If someone steps in front of you while sledding, bail.
3. Dogs are a man’s (and a boy’s) best friend.  They are your protector.
4. Hot Wheels do burn
5. Ice is way faster than snow
6. Star Wars is the coolest movie ever
7. The best way to even the score is to fight with your weapon of choice, not theirs
8. With enough air pressure, one can dislodge the cap from a bottle of glue from one’s nostril
9. Little brothers rock
10. Little sisters probably do too
11. One can forget a lot from one’s teenage years if one tries 🙂
12. Don’t fake who you are
13. There is no such thing as too much music
14. There is such thing as too much hairspray
15. A Ford Courier can actually exceed the speed limit
16. Don’t believe everything that a coach tells you
17. Stand up for yourself, your name, and your beliefs, even if it means getting in a fight
18. Learn to fish.  Literally and figuratively.
19. Teaching someone how to drive a stick shift is difficult in a vehicle with a failing clutch
20. If someone demands your attention and your money, they are not worth either
21. Learn a skill THEN go to college
22. Be willing to prove yourself (to yourself sometimes if needed)
23. Don’t wait to get married when you are “ready.”  If he/she is the one, you will make it ready.
24. The same goes for having kids.
25. Don’t buy a new car or a new model year, especially if it is a Dodge (sorry MOPAR family!)
26. Fireworks and dry grass do not mix
27. Neither does Coke and Gin
28. Learn to take chances
29. You learn at 30 that you didn’t know anything in your twenties except how to screw up royally and still enjoy doing it!
30. Faith looks (and feels) a lot like hard work and tough choices
31. Find good friends that are older than you.  And listen to them
32. Just because you get a running start, you will not always make it up an icy or muddy driveway
33. Everything has a price
34. Everyone has value
35. If you are over 300 pounds, you need more than 6 feet of water to successful implement a cannonball.
36. Common sense is not only not common, but also can be very expensive to teach
37. Games rock.
38. Star Wars is still the best movie ever!
39. One can read all the books on backing up a trailer, but there is nothing like the experience.
40. God is a loving Father, not a terrible task master, a hard leader, or angry judge.

There are probably more (and I will probably post them) but this is just what I have come up with so far.