This is the End

 Happy 20th Anniversary to this blog!! 

 I've dragged this thing along for 20 years. I can't believe it. You can clearly tell which years I had more free time. Blogging once a year is almost worthless at this point, so I'm following the rules of the new golden age of TV and shutting this baby down while it's still (sorta) good. This. Is. It. 

For my final act, I will relay some wisdom I have learned in the last 20 years, in no particular order:

~ You can't rely on other people to define who you are. You should know the things you like and don't like, the things you are good at and you aren't good at. You will be a stronger person if you use those things to define who you are, and not other people. 

~ It's ok to be less excited about things as you get older. That's why you have kids and/or pets. So they can get excited about things for you. 

~ Communication is VERY important, especially for people who live together. I'm not the best communicator, but Mike is great at it, and it's definitely helped our marriage over the years. We also recognize our strengths and weaknesses. We do not share any bank accounts, because we have very different ways of doing finances. We also make sure each of us talks through doing chores or things the kids need to do day to day. We have a system for most things.  

~ You can change your underwear however you'd like, but please change your socks at NIGHT. Nobody tells you this, but it just makes sense. Who wants dirty street socks in bed? Unless you just don't wear socks to bed at all, and that's fine too. But when it's 20 degrees outside, I need some damn socks on my feet in bed. Clean socks at night, people. 

~ This is hard one to really believe, but 90% of the time it's true. If a friend or family member is acting strangely, it's about THEM, not YOU. If you can't figure out what you did to cause your relationship with the other person to change, that means they are busy, or stressed, or just dealing with other things. It's not all about you. Examples: you text someone and they don't get back to you for a week. Or they don't "like" your post on social media. Or they don't invite you to your grandmother's birthday party (DAD). Anyway...  

~ This one has no basis in scientific fact, but I fully believe it to be true. Do NOT let your brain pathways go stagnant. Make new friends, have new experiences, do things you are afraid of. All of these things create new pathways to make your brain stay young. Don't believe me? Ask my 102 year old grandmother with all of her wits about her.  

~ Time goes by so quickly. Don't waste it on things or people that aren't worth your time. And if what's important changes, that's fine too. Efficient organization was important to me before I had 2 children and 4 pets. Now I'm putting it off, but only temporarily. My kids still want to hang out with me. Organization can wait until they are teenagers and think I'm not cool anymore. 

And this blog is not worth my time anymore either, sadly. I'll keep it online for awhile though, as some of my posts have gotten a bit of attention (553 views on the miscarriage post means it's gotta be helping someone out there). I'll miss typing random things to myself and wondering if anyone else cares, but I'll enjoy my time with my family and friends more.