Mistakes

     We all make mistakes...it's what we humans do.  We make big ones, small ones, and everything in-between.  Sometimes we know that we are making a mistake even as we do them.  Other times, we realize after the fact that we made a mistake.  The great thing about mistakes is that we can learn from them...even though we don't always learn that lesson the first time.  Some people keep making the same mistakes over and over again until finally they realize there is a problem.

     I have made some pretty big mistakes in my life.  My first marriage was a mistake.  On some level, I knew that it wasn't the right thing to do, but all my friends were getting married, we had dated for a long time, I wanted to start a family.  So I got married...and it wasn't right.  There was no abuse, no ugliness, but there was no true love.  The things I wanted weren't the things he wanted.    It took me a long time to realize that it was a mistake.  I learned what I truly want from a marriage because of that mistake.  It was a big one...I spent several years of my life learning my lesson from that mistake.  My friends and family didn't judge me for making such a big mistake, instead they stood by my side and loved me.

     I make little mistakes every day.  I know that I can't fry chicken...if we want fried chicken, we go out.  I yell to much...I have to ask for forgiveness from my family every time I do that.  I don't always return emails and phone calls from friends right away...they love me any way.   I have forgotten a deadline on a project at work, luckily a coworker picked up my slack...and gave me another chance to do better next time.  Every day I make some sort of mistake in my life, often times more than one.

     Everyone makes mistakes, it's how we respond to them that makes us a better person.  Hopefully, I am learning a lot, because I know I make a lot of mistakes!