{"id":3520,"date":"2011-08-11T05:45:07","date_gmt":"2011-08-11T09:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/?p=3520"},"modified":"2019-06-07T13:40:28","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:40:28","slug":"38-things-i-have-learned-at-38-by-amy-spooner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/38-things-i-have-learned-at-38-by-amy-spooner\/","title":{"rendered":"38 Things I Have Learned at 38, by Amy Spooner"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love that the contributions to the “Things I Have Learned” series keep coming in. I asked a small number of my writer friends to participate at the outset, but now the majority of participants have volunteered themselves and that’s fantastic. Keep ’em coming, all!<\/em>
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Amy Spooner contributes this week's Things I Have Learned list. Here she is on her 38th birthday in July, while rendez vousing with a dear friend and her family on Cape Cod.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nToday’s list comes from Amy Spooner, who I met when she profiled me for the alumni magazine at Ross School of Business<\/a> last year. It’s a fun role swap to have her story on my blog today.
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\nAmy Spooner enjoys the delicate dance of full-time employment, motherhood, marriage, and trying not to lose herself in the process. When she graduated from the University of Michigan in 1995, the one thing she knew for certain was that she\u2019d never live in Michigan again. After stints in Chicago and Denver, she returned to Ann Arbor in November 1999. Amy spent seven years working in alumni relations before realizing what she wanted to be when she grew up, and she\u2019s now in her fourth year as a writer and editor in the marketing communications office at the Ross School of Business. Amy is proud to say that her son (sort of) knows how to help paddle her tandem kayak, and he\u2019s nearly mastered the lyrics to the University of Michigan fight song.<\/em><\/p>\n
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  1. I may have only had one serious boyfriend in my life, but one was all it took.<\/li>\n
  2. My son\u2019s laugh is the most addictive drug I know.<\/li>\n
  3. Making routine things seem exciting is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give their child.<\/li>\n
  4. Raising that child to be able to play alone, enjoy the silence, and stay occupied in a car without use of electronic devices is another.<\/li>\n
  5. I don\u2019t just love to travel, I need<\/em> to travel. It feeds my soul.<\/li>\n
  6. My toddler was put on this earth to teach me patience. So far he hasn\u2019t succeeded.<\/li>\n
  7. I need more sleep than the average person.<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cSleep when the baby sleeps\u201d is still a good mantra even when he\u2019s three. Nothing beats an afternoon nap.<\/li>\n
  9. Don\u2019t ever wish someone would just drop dead. When they do subsequently die unexpectedly, it brings on a tidal wave of guilt.<\/li>\n
  10. There always are bigger problems in the world than mine.<\/li>\n
  11. If I don\u2019t go to church on Christmas Eve, I\u2019m sad.<\/li>\n
  12. Reality TV shows don\u2019t deserve my time.<\/li>\n
  13. Now that I\u2019m out of school, if I\u2019m not enjoying a book, I don\u2019t need to finish it.<\/li>\n
  14. I love dogs too much to be a veterinarian.<\/li>\n
  15. Lead by example.<\/li>\n
  16. There are things I just cannot consume in moderation, such as caffeine, chocolate milk, popcorn, French fries, and chocolate graham crackers. Therefore, it\u2019s best to not even get started.<\/li>\n
  17. Falling off the exercise bandwagon is a lot easier than getting back on it.<\/li>\n
  18. Waking up in the middle of the night and no longer hearing rain falling on the tent is not cause for excitement. It may have simply gotten cold enough to turn to snow.<\/li>\n
  19. Having a job I love was worth the pay cut it took to get it.<\/li>\n
  20. I\u2019ve become more sensitive to the world\u2019s pain now that I\u2019m a mother.<\/li>\n
  21. Sometimes bad things just happen. It makes no sense, and it\u2019s no one\u2019s fault, so there\u2019s no one we can sue, punish, or blame. It just happens.<\/li>\n
  22. The people who appear to be losers in high school just might end up making something of themselves after all. Don\u2019t judge a person\u2019s life path at 16.<\/li>\n
  23. I will never love someone as much as I love my husband. My child is a close second, but my husband always will come first.<\/li>\n
  24. Bring more water than thought to be necessary when going hiking.<\/li>\n
  25. It\u2019s okay not to enjoy something I\u2019m supposed to enjoy. Like sushi or chai or downhill skiing when I lived in Colorado.<\/li>\n
  26. My form of meditation is quickly, quietly, and steadily paddling my kayak.<\/li>\n
  27. I complain that I don\u2019t spend enough time outdoors, but I have no one to blame but myself.<\/li>\n
  28. I complain that I don\u2019t spend enough time reading, but I have no one to blame but myself.<\/li>\n
  29. Attending a classical violin performance is a cheap form of therapy.<\/li>\n
  30. If I try to balance the checkbook and pay bills in the evening, I will always, always, always have trouble falling asleep.<\/li>\n
  31. My son doesn\u2019t want to be yelled at right before he goes to bed any more than I do.<\/li>\n
  32. Having friends who really, really get me and knew me before I even knew myself is a priceless gift.<\/li>\n
  33. I could never be a stay-at-home mom, even though I was convinced that was what I wanted.<\/li>\n
  34. The summer trips I took with my parents as a kid form so much of who I am today.<\/li>\n
  35. A cold shower right before bed is good, but can’t compete with the cooling benefits of a pre-bed skinny dip.<\/li>\n
  36. I can go months without communicating with certain friends, but when we reconnect, it\u2019s like only minutes have passed. In the meantime, I can take comfort in knowing they\u2019re out there doing their thing, living their lives.<\/li>\n
  37. It\u2019s okay to admit that spaghetti and garlic bread is my favorite meal. I don\u2019t need to sound fancier than I am.<\/li>\n
  38. As clich\u00e9 as it may sound, home is wherever my family is.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Amy Spooner is the ninth contributor to the \u201cThings I Have Learned\u201d series, running each Thursday on Newvine Growing. Previous lists have come from:<\/em><\/p>\n