Things I've Learned from Fairy Tales

With many thanks to Randy Newman, the Shermans, and all the other lyricists that have kept me singing all these years.

1. True love always finds a way.
2. Eventually we all will probably fulfill our destinies, despite the detours and pitfalls.
3. Everybody is pretty if we look at them that way.
4. Money has no soul. Money has no heart.
5. Animals can talk to us. (C'mon, you know you want to believe this.)
6. Some of your best, most loyal friends may look nothing like you.
7. Don't let people down.
8. If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.
9. Spaghetti is romantic.
10. Girls are as strong and resourceful as boys.
11. Sometimes you are taught to fear things that aren't so scary at all. Find out.
12. Love is a song that never ends.
13. People know when you're lying.
14. Every life needs a soundtrack---with love ballads and dance tunes.
15. Singing makes your troubles go away. At least for awhile.
16. Find your happy place.
17. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.
18. Just do your best, and then take a rest.
19. Fairy dust is a positive must.
20. What you need is more important than what you want.
21. Life is short. When you're done, you're done.
22. We're put on this earth to have some fun.
23. Mothers will always hold you in their heart.
24. Sometimes to have your wish come true you have to relinquish something of yourself. Consider it carefully.
25. A long dress and a tiara makes any girl feel like a princess. And every girl should feel like a princess at least once in her life. Say, her wedding day.
26. There are evil people in the world. For real.
27. Fathers should be role models.
28. Look for your Prince Charming. But "charming" is more important than "prince." He needs to be a good, decent man first of all.
29. A parent will give up their life to save their child.
30. Old ladies make good fairy godmothers.
31. Remember what your father said. Your mother will remind you.
32. Fairy tales can come true but you gotta make 'em happen. It all depends on you.
33. You are a vital part of the circle of life. You count.
34. Disney and Pixar have had a huge impact on my life.

Observations on 2010---so far

Indications are that 2010 should be an interesting year. Just like all the others---lol!

1. Baby watch has begun in earnest, so a new little personality will bloom on the family tree.
2. There will be some absurdity. In an idle moment watching Family Feud, the question was to name something Queen Elizabeth does without wearing her crown. Immediately I thought to myself that 9 times out of 10 she's wearing a funky hat not a crown, but that was immediately pushed aside by the team's answer of "take a shower." The absurdity of that mental image blocked all others, including fooling around with the king.
3. There will be new things to discover. Today it was canned strawberries.
4. Some things will change. I have resolved to do things uncharacteristic of myself for 2010. I figure that anytime I do something this year that I didn't do last year, I'm living up to that.
5. Some things will not change. For instance, not getting my loved daughter-in-law's birthday present in the mail to arrive on time. Yeah, that lame excuse of "just wanted the celebration to last longer" is sounding weak even to me.
6. People will surprise me. More and more I am espousing the song title philosophy of "God is great, beer is good, people are crazy." (Though I don't think I'll be drinking any beer this year.) But, too, I'm sentimentally afraid that more people will surprise me by not being here anymore. It's been a rough couple of months.
7. My to-do list to get back some "normalcy" is so long that I have to fight the inertia that sets in when I just contemplate it. Must. Do.
8. My butt and my brain will get more of a workout than my backbone and my hands.

And it's only January 2. Whoa.