And what I have learned so far is that nothing can replace the love of a good man. Compromise isn’t a far off notion, it is a daily concession. I will have regrets, no matter what. Chemistry is for the birds. It is hard to truly appreciate where I’m at when I’m there, despite a desire to focus on gratitude. God first, husband, kids then self (not last in everything but it’s just the order of things). I “needed” my mother less and less in my twenties, but more and more in my thirties. Never put off laundry. Having children is the single greatest and simultaneously least valued thing I’ve done. Some things are more important than being right. Teenage boys are cruel. You are what you eat. I should always be ready to apologize to my kids. Life balance is impossible. There’s only time to maintain a handful of meaningful relationships so choose wisely. Youth IS actually wasted on the young. But most of all, I have learned, that I know less and less with each passing year.