{"id":3483,"date":"2011-07-28T05:45:53","date_gmt":"2011-07-28T09:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/?p=3483"},"modified":"2019-06-07T13:40:30","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:40:30","slug":"50-things-i-have-learned-at-50-by-ann-belote-weir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/50-things-i-have-learned-at-50-by-ann-belote-weir\/","title":{"rendered":"50 Things I Have Learned at 50, by Ann Belote Weir"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s installment in the “Things I Have Learned” series comes from a colleague at my first job after college, where I worked as a reporter at the Alpena News<\/a>. If you’ve never heard of Alpena, think cold. It’s five hours north of Detroit, and in addition to learning a tremendous amount about real-life newspapers, I learned such things as how to park my car to protect the engine from the ice-cold winter winds whipping moisture from Lake Huron.<\/em>
\nBut today isn’t about me or about Alpena, it’s about Ann.<\/em>
\n

\"Ann<\/a>
Ann Belote Weir shares her 50 Things I Have Learned at 50 list today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nAnn Belote Weir lives in northeast Michigan and has learned much about herself from her life as a wife, mother and newspaper reporter. She blogs about weight loss and life at www.weirlosingit.blogspot.com<\/a> and has a day job at the local Area Agency on Aging. She is looking forward to at least 30 more years of learning.<\/em><\/p>\n
    \n
  1. When you start out a new adventure or project thinking \u201cWhat\u2019s the worst that can happen?\u201d you usually find out.<\/li>\n
  2. It\u2019s quite all right to laugh right out loud.<\/li>\n
  3. Commas \u2013 when it doubt leave them out.<\/li>\n
  4. When I was younger and would mow the lawn, I always mowed with the grass flying to the outside, making quite a mess in my wake. My dad stopped me one day and told me to mow to the inside, informing me that the grass would be easier to clean up as it would all be less scattered. \u00a0\u201cAlways mow to the inside, you\u2019ll find your messes are easier to clean up.\u201d I found that to be quite an analogy to life.<\/li>\n
  5. Do not shop for groceries on the 1st<\/sup> of any month. Trust me on this one.<\/li>\n
  6. I have found, as I have gotten older, a larger capacity to love, and less fear to embrace that feeling.<\/li>\n
  7. I still look both ways before I cross the street and use my eyes, my ears and then my feet.<\/li>\n
  8. Apparently I am the only one who likes my singing.<\/li>\n
  9. Humor really does make you feel better.<\/li>\n
  10. Play fair.<\/li>\n
  11. No bad comes of not forwarding an email \u2013 likewise no fortune can come if you do forward one.<\/li>\n
  12. Build bridges, not roadblocks.<\/li>\n
  13. It\u2019s ok to say no and not feel bad \u2013 but it\u2019s hard sometimes to not feel bad and that\u2019s ok, too.<\/li>\n
  14. Go to the stores that treat you well, not the ones that are cheapest.<\/li>\n
  15. You can\u2019t will love away. Sometimes love, unrequited or otherwise, just stays with you, whether you want it to or not.<\/li>\n
  16. Keep your eyes on the road; do not get distracted by things that fall on the floorboard of your car. Learned that one the hard way.<\/li>\n
  17. Parallelism, passive voice, periodic structure.<\/li>\n
  18. Don\u2019t be afraid to ask questions \u2013 always ask questions.<\/li>\n
  19. The flying monkeys aren\u2019t real, the flying monkeys aren\u2019t real.<\/li>\n
  20. Whatever I make will never taste like mom\u2019s.<\/li>\n
  21. Took me a long time to learn this: \u00a0accept what you cannot change.<\/li>\n
  22. Take a lot of pictures!<\/li>\n
  23. Let people take pictures of you \u2013 how else will people remember you when you’re gone?<\/li>\n
  24. Hitting anyone is never all right.<\/li>\n
  25. Everyone has flaws \u2013 so do I. My friends accept mine, I accept theirs.<\/li>\n
  26. Swimming in a pool is much better than swimming in a lake, lounging by the lake is much better than lounging by the pool.<\/li>\n
  27. There is nothing wrong with free stuff.<\/li>\n
  28. ALWAYS balance your check book. One mistake can cost a lot of money. I learned that the hard way, too.<\/li>\n
  29. As a matter of fact, most things I\u2019ve learned, I\u2019ve learned the hard way.<\/li>\n
  30. Your environment can shape who you are, but it doesn\u2019t have to define you.<\/li>\n
  31. Never underestimate the need for a full-length mirror.<\/li>\n
  32. You do not have to settle.<\/li>\n
  33. A good hair stylist really can make anyone look good.<\/li>\n
  34. Do good. Always do good.<\/li>\n
  35. Don\u2019t be afraid to show how smart you are.<\/li>\n
  36. As a parent, I want my kids not to be as good as me but better than me at parenting.<\/li>\n
  37. There\u2019s nothing wrong with taking a recess.<\/li>\n
  38. Never regret anything you\u2019ve done. You can\u2019t change it but you can learn from it.<\/li>\n
  39. Pick your own theme song. You can always change it.<\/li>\n
  40. Subscribe to magazines \u2013 much cheaper.<\/li>\n
  41. Be kind.<\/li>\n
  42. If there is someone behind you with fewer groceries than you, let them go ahead of you.<\/li>\n
  43. High school is not the best time of your youthful life. College is.<\/li>\n
  44. I learned this from my grandson who was 5 at the time \u2013 never drive with the sunroof open because, \u201cBirds could poop in there\u201d. Haven\u2019t used it since. I vent it instead. Because he\u2019s right.<\/li>\n
  45. Appreciate fully what people have done for you and thank them.<\/li>\n
  46. Don\u2019t shoot down someone\u2019s dream just because you think it\u2019s stupid. It isn\u2019t your dream.<\/li>\n
  47. The short version \u2013 just keep your mouth shut if you aren\u2019t sure that what you\u2019re going to say will be appreciated.<\/li>\n
  48. Everyone knows what opinions are like, and that everyone has one. I say rumors are like that too, and that everyone knows one.<\/li>\n
  49. Always have a good mix on your mp3.<\/li>\n
  50. Share.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ann Belote Weir was the seventh installment in the \u201cThings I Have Learned\u201d series, running each Thursday on Newvine Growing. Previous lists have come from:<\/em><\/p>\n