The stores have been busy with back-to-school shoppers. Backpacks are filled with notebooks and new pencils. Finally, this is the week. The week when all the first day of school photos are sent to grandparents and pasted on social media.

Sending my oldest child to school was a day I won’t forget. There were tears. There was fear. There was uncertainty. None of those were from my son, but I was a mess. I walked him to school the first day, filled with fear and uncertainty​. ​Walking home alone, I cried all the way.

He, on the other hand, was excited. He wore his new first-day-of-school outfit and bounced as he walked in his new shoes. He loved his new backpack and couldn’t wait to go to school like the big kids. He gave me a quick hug and ran into the classroom filled with anticipation.

Honestly, I thought one sign of not wanting to leave his mom would have been nice, but I was proud of his bravery and enthusiasm.

Over the years, I have watched my kids march through all the levels of education with that same bravery and enthusiasm. And this week, I have been receiving photos of my smiling grandchildren holding signs that say what grade they are beginning.

The photos are similar. The first-day-of-school new outfits, new shoes, new backpacks filled with notebooks and laptops, -- okay a few things have changed.

All of this has brought back to mind memories of my own school years. The books, the bus rides, the classrooms and teachers, and the lessons learned. I wondered, what did I learn that made a difference in my life? What did I learn in school that really mattered?

I can tell you a few odd facts from school that have somehow lodged in a wrinkle of my brain that haven’t changed my life. I have not played recorder or square danced since 4th grade, and I can recite most of Paul Revere’s Ride. 

I do realize that learning to read, write, and do arithmetic has held a valuable role in everyone’s life.​ But what did we learn that mattered?

I learned how to share and cooperate. This worked in kindergarten and has worked throughout my life.

I learned that those group projects that I hated at the time taught me how to work as a team. Whether it is in the workplace or in a family, working as a team has value.
I learned how to meet and talk to people. The skill of communication has gotten me further than almost anything else in life.

I learned how to be kind. In school and in life, it was (and is) easier to be gentle and kind than it is to be mean and hateful. Life goes smoother,​easier, and happier if you are.

I learned that showing up matters. In college, I learned quickly that if I read the assignment and showed up for class, I would pass. Of course, if I did a little more work than that, I passed with a higher grade, but showing up mattered. Throughout my life, that has remained true.

The years of school are a process. A rite of passage that trains us for life. The new clothes, the photographs, and maybe even the square dancing are all part of the ritual that brings with it the true lessons we are meant to learn.

To all you smiling students out there… be kind and show up. It matters!
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                                                   Pennie’s Life Lesson:
        Success in school, work, and life often begins with simply being present.
                                        Be kind and show up. It matters!
                                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What if you could love your life—no matter what? Loving your life isn’t about presenting a picture of a perfect life. It is about enjoying the good days and accepting the bad. Today, I am sharing 7 practical strategies to help you shift your mindset and create a life you love.

1. Be present in your life.
Happiness and joy are found in the present simple moments of life. Many times, we concentrate on the sadness and regrets of the past or the worries and fears about the future. We miss the joy of the moments we are in.  The simple pleasures of life slip by us.
Put away the screens and other distractions and practice being fully present. Deeply listen during conversations. Notice the smells, sounds, and sensations around you. Enjoy your coffee. Watch a sunrise. Laugh with a child. Live every moment of your life.

2. Stop comparing yourself to other people.
Remember, social media is a highlight reel and not real life. Comparison will skew reality and steal your joy. Learn to like, live, and love in your own home and your own heart. The more time you spend liking yourself, the less time you have to compare yourself to others. The less time you spend comparing yourself to others, the more you will like yourself. Your life is a unique journey, and no one else has your path. Instead of comparing yourself to others, compare yourself to the person you were yesterday. Try to be a little better every day.

3. Be a positive magnet.
Cultivate positive energy. Surround yourself with the energy that will raise your level of happiness, love, and joy. Choose friends who inspire and support you. Limit toxic time – the interactions that drain your energy. Create your living space to be a place of peace that nourishes your positive energy. Energy is contagious. Be a magnet that attracts and pulls you to positive people and places that uplift you.

4. Take care of you.
Your physical and mental health play a huge role in how you feel about your life. When you prioritize self-care, you naturally start to feel better about yourself and your circumstances.
Move your body. Exercise will boost endorphins and happiness.
Eat good food. A nourishing diet improves mood and energy.
Prioritize rest – give sleep the importance it deserves.
Protect your time and energy from negativity.
Loving your life begins with loving yourself - mind, body, and soul.

5. Refocus your perspective on life.
Events don’t happen to us; they happen for us. Everything that happens in life, good and bad, is happening to teach us lessons and encourage our growth as a human.
This may be difficult to grasp, but once you do, your outlook on life will change. Even when hardships seem unfair, instead of seeing the problem as an obstacle, ask yourself what you are learning and how you are growing from the situation. Every experience, good or bad, is shaping you into the person you’re meant to be.

6. Align your life with your values.
Many people feel unhappy because they live a life based on expectations rather than their true desires. To love your life, you need to create one that aligns with what truly matters to you. What brings you joy? What do you value in life? Once you have clarity, begin designing a life that feels authentic to you.

7. Learn to give and receive gratitude.
Gratitude is one of the fastest ways to begin loving your life. When you focus on what’s good, your brain naturally shifts toward positivity. Once life becomes filled with joy and happiness, we will be grateful, right? It doesn’t work that way. Gratitude comes first! The more gratitude you feel, the more gratitude you will receive. The more gratitude you show, the more happiness and joy you will feel. Be grateful for every moment, every breath, every experience, and every lesson learned. It is not happiness and joy that make us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us happy and joyful.

Loving your life isn’t about having a perfect existence, it’s about choosing joy, gratitude, and growth, even in the face of challenges. By shifting your perspective, practicing gratitude, and surrounding yourself with positive energy, you can create a life that you truly love.
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                                                Pennie’s life lesson:
                                     Love Your Life – No Matter What!
                              ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most of us remember learning about the color wheel in elementary school. We learned about the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue. Even as young children, we learned how to slide our small hands through thick finger paint to mix these colors and create new colors.

The study of color has become a huge business in our world. Designers and marketers have studied the impact of color on our moods, purchasing patterns, and even appetite. Color evokes emotions and actions in all of us.

I believe that they may be the same emotions and actions that our friends stir in us. I believe we all have a color wheel of friendship.

For example, red can ignite us with passion, energy, and excitement. It is no accident that many pizza parlors use red tablecloths and have red painted walls. Red stimulates our appetites to order more and eat faster. Think about your friends. Which one of your friends ignites your energy and excitement? They may be your marathon running partner. They are your red friends.

The color blue is often associated with the sky and the sea. Calmness, tranquility, peace, and trust circle us when we are surrounded by blue. Which friend brings you calmness, tranquility, and trust? That is your blue friend.

The color yellow is associated with happiness and optimism. Which friend does this remind you of? The friend who can bring your mood up and help you see the bright side of every situation is your yellow friend.

Green, of course, reminds us of trees, mountainsides, and all nature. Your green friend will hike and camp with you. They will ground you in what is important in life.

Orange friends are joy-filled. They are creative, warm, and enthusiastic about life. Do you have a friend like this?

And then there is the color purple. The color of mystery, spirituality, and royalty. These are the friends who just ‘know’ things. They may guide you in mystical ways. They may seem like they should wear a royal cape and have a crystal ball. You are drawn to them for healing, help, and guidance.

I am sure you are visualizing your color wheel of friends. Some of them may bring more than one color to your life. Some may bring snippets of several colors, but usually they will have a dominant color that brings out the emotions, actions, and feelings that match that color.

We all need a little of each color in our lives. We all need a variety of friends to circle us with their unique colors. The color each friend brings to us has a substantial effect on our mind and heart. We need a little of each color in our friendships. On the friendship color wheel, too much of one color can throw off our life balance.

In the same way that marketers and designers carefully choose colors to evoke feelings and attract their target audience, make sure you surround yourself with a color wheel of friends that creates a balanced, happy circle of friendship in your life. 
Take a good look at your friendship color wheel, and while you are at it, what color of friend are you?
​                                           ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                               Pennie’s Life Lesson:
          Surrounding yourself with a balanced “color wheel” of friends,
                            each bringing their unique, colorful energy,
                                will create a vibrant and fulfilling life.
                                   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When my mother-in-law passed away, she left an entire drawer full of keys. Keys of every shape, size, and color. Shiny keys and old, worn keys. Gold, silver, and colorful keys. It was a fascinating sight to see so many keys saved in one large drawer.

It was easy to believe they were keys to businesses she had owned. Keys to homes she had lived in and cars she had driven.​ Safe deposit box keys and tiny jewelry box keys.

What fascinated me the most was why she kept them. I suspect there was a reason. Maybe it was because every key held a story. A story that no one knew. And since the holder of the keys is no longer with us, none of us will ever know the hundreds of stories that went with the keys.

Some keys were attached to key rings with plastic or paper labels. Some were in leather cases, and some were attached to padlocks. I wondered if this was significant and correlated to the importance of the story they held. Maybe the keys in cases h​eld special sentimental stories that deserved a special resting place and safekeeping.

Maybe the padlocked keys held stories that were never to be opened or visited again. And maybe all the loose keys held paragraphs or chapters that, when tied together, told a much bigger story.

No one knows when the first key went in the drawer or how many of her 90 years it took to gather them. The drawer of keys will always be a collection of mysteries.
I have a few keys in my junk drawer. They are mostly keys that I no longer remember what they are for. What if someday I found the lock and had thrown away the key? I am afraid of needing them someday, so I keep them. I suppose we all do this.

Think about all the keys you have held in your lifetime and the doors they opened. Maybe as a child, you had a diary with a tiny lock and key that, when opened, held the secrets of your youth. The key to your first car opened an entire world of freedom you had never experienced before. The key to your first apartment opened an independence and was the gateway to adulthood. The key to your first office opened the first step to financial security. The key to the first home you purchased might have opened the door to having a life partner and a growing family.  Keys open the doors to our dreams.

Along the way, our keys become bigger. Not in size, but they open bigger doors. Bigger opportunities. Bigger experiences. And bigger lives for us. We want bigger keys so we can continue to move to a bigger life and bigger dreams.

As we walk through life and continue to collect new keys, we no longer need the old ones. We have grown through the old stories that the keys held. Old keys won’t open new doors, so we throw them away. Or maybe, we throw them all in a drawer where the keys collect and create a mystery box of hundreds of secret stories t​o past dreams that will never be known.
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                                                Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                           Old keys won’t open new doors.
                       They are the keepers of life stories and past dreams.
                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

 Have you ever felt like you wasted time - maybe even an entire day?
​
I am not a techy person. Recently I spent an hour on my computer trying to get something to work correctly. I finally walked away from the project angry, disappointed, and frustrated.  I had wasted my time.
I can’t get that hour back.
 
When things like this happen, it is painful. Many times we can’t avoid the situation or the time it stole from us…but sometimes we can. 
 
I’m not saying the situation I described was a good experience, but the lesson from it was. What if we looked at every moment and day as something that disappears, and we can’t get it back. It is true, so why not live like it is?
 
Sometimes we all need a day of relaxation and down time. These are not wasted days. 
 
We can’t control traffic or the weather. Sometimes it interferes with our plans. At these times we just have to accept it and move on. Some wasted time we can’t control.
 
What we can do is try our best to create a life that is moment by moment, day by day, meaningful and not wasted. 
 
The first step is to figure out what is important to you. I hope your list will include family, friends, work you enjoy, hobbies, and don’t forget self-care.
 
Sure, there are things in life we do to please others. You may not like to attend weddings, but if the ones getting married are meaningful to you, then you attend events like this to express your love and dedication to them. This is not a waste of your time. It is an investment in relationships with those you care about. If you skip family and friend events like this and miss the opportunity to be with loved ones you may regret it.
You can’t get that hour back.
 
For me… there are things I know I’m not good at or can’t do. Troubleshooting technology is one of them. I have spent many hours in the scenario I described, wasting hours of my life on something I know won’t turn out well. So, instead of trying, I should connect with someone I know that is a whiz at it. 
 
Time is our most irreplaceable resource, and how we spend it defines the person we are and the meaning of our lives. In life we don’t get many do-overs and we don’t get time back. Spend your time with people that add meaning to your life. Focus on the people, events, and things you love. A wasted hour is an hour you don’t get back.
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                                                      Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                                          Focus your time on what matters.
                                          Once it’s gone, you don’t get it back.
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