According to the immortal Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood."  Through having seven siblings, I learned flexibility and tolerance.  Through music, I learned about discipline and beauty...and how to communicate personally with others.  As a byproduct of having an abusive husband, I learned that nothing is worth the compromise of one's true self.  I have learned that I should strive to have no regrets; as long as I take to heart the sometimes-harsh lessons that life sends my way and use them to mold my character in a positive way. 

I have a problem.  I am a control freak with an OCD tendancy to alphabetize everything in my path.  While this makes me an ideal library volunteer, it does create the potential for ulcers.  The reason for this is that I stress about the things that I have absolutely no control over whatsoever.  If I can control it, I don't worry about it..  Having recognized this problem, I can be on the road to recovery.  The thing I most need to learn is to let go...just to let go.  To realize that there is Someone bigger than me, who sees beyond the boundaries of time and space and to let Him take the metaphorical reins. 

I always wish for sunshine.  I can wake up on the wrong side of the bed, my hair won't do what I want, and my dog can have gotten sick all over the kitchen floor, but if I have the sun, my case of the grumpies goes away.  I have the sun today...and it's beautiful!