Mistakes, I've Made a Few.

I’ve been doing some thinking about mistakes lately. Not because I’m dwelling on regrets or anything like that, but because I can’t help but do some reflection on the past year, it being the eve of my birthday and all. This past year has been a busy one for me. There’s been a lot of re-arranging, some overhauls, new beginnings, new arrivals, and some goodbyes. Reflection can be an interesting thing. It allows you to think about how you arrived at the spot you’re at and why. When I think about how I came to be where I’m at now, I think of mistakes, but in a good way. I have some feelings of regret sometimes for sure, but I’m really happy to have finally started to learn how to embrace my mistakes and be grateful for them. Man, I’ve made so many mistakes. But the good news is that I’ve really learned something from them, and the even better news is that I can start over every time. I didn’t used to think this way. My nephew, Isaac, has always been a really positive boy. When he was just a little guy, barely learning how to form complete sentences, one of his favorite things to say was, “You can do it. Try again!” He would say this whenever he or somebody else would try to do something but mess up in the process. “You can do it. It’s easy. Try again!” He would say that over and over. I love that he knew to say that at such an early age. Unfortunately, that simple concept of the “do over” is lost on some people. I know it used to be a notion that I wasn't able to understand. Luckily I have good people in my life that have taught me to appreciate the concept of the “do over.” ‘Cause like I said, I’ve made many mistakes and will continue to make them. I always seem to do things the hard way. But at least I can say I’ve learned some important lessons from the mistakes I’ve made. And I’m grateful for these lessons, big and small. I really am. To illustrate, here’s just a small sampling of my many landmark mistakes, some from this year, some from years long past. There are plenty more where these came from, but I’ll spare you from the extended version. Gosh, life is good.

Sample 1

Here I am circa 1994. I’ve made it super easy to locate me in this picture as I’m hoping the braces and Prince Valiant haircut may throw you off a bit. At any rate, this is a perfect image of myself before I stumbled upon the joys of eyebrow waxing. It is also before I realized that my secondary schooling experience would have been much more enjoyable had I been a little less into Kurt Cobain and Silverchair and a lot more into hair and make-up. Why am I the only one without claw bangs in this photo? Why am I wearing that long-sleeved plaid shirt? Why in the world did I participate in this pseudo family portrait in the first place? These are just a few of the questions my 14-year-old self should’ve been asking back in ‘94. Mistake.

Sample 2

See that utensil resting in my hand? That’s a fork. Yes, I am smiling, but what I really wanted to do was stab myself with said fork, making necessary a hasty trip to the ER, ‘cause I would’ve rather been on my way to the hospital than at that dinner for the remainder of the night. Am I being a bit dramatic? Maybe. Was my decision to spend my evening with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named at the wedding dinner from hell a mistake of epic proportions? Absolutely.

Sample 3

Question: Why did you allow me to walk around in public all of last summer with golden hair? I thought you people were supposed to be my friends. Blonde Monica = Mistake.

Sample 4

Here’s a side-view of what I look like after having spent 50 bones to wait in line for two hours only to experience the non-pleasure of viewing the shellacked insides of a rotten camel carcass. Mistake? Clearly.

Samples 5, 6, 7...

Any guesses? Only time will tell, people…only time will tell.

"Experience is a hard teacher, because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."
- Vernon Sanders Law