lessons learned

Sorry I'm a moron and somehow turned comments off for nearly a full day. As a result, I'll extend the giveaway 1 day and it will run through the 16th, winners announced the 17th.

If you wanted to comment but were unable to, please try again by posting a comment on the original post. Thanks, and sorry for the trouble.

Blogging and being a professional nerd are two things in this life that I enjoy very much. When they complement each other, life is good. Staying on the bleeding edge of technology allows me to connect with more people, through more avenues. While writing gives me a creative outlet for the weird things that roll around in my head.

But when the worlds interfere with each other, at least one world suffers. Unfortunately, over the past weeks, blogging has been the casualty. During my time off, I've learned a few things, some of which I'd like to share.

The older I get, the faster time goes by. College seems like it was last week, high school last year, and kindergarten about five years ago. As I type this, my fingers are succumbing to arthritis, my knee is predicting rain tomorrow, and my eyesight is going down the tubes. It's as if life is passing me by, and I don't even realize it.

But it wasn't always this way. As a child I remember when lunchtime was an eternity away, weekends were like a vacation, and one year felt like two. The only thing that came quickly was bedtime.

A powerful thing

Now I see a year in a child's life for what it really is... a powerful and influential period of time. This fact was very evident during a recent trip over the river and through the woods, to Grandma's (and Grandpa's) house.

Kids Learn the Hard Way

Princess P went up the stairs, and Princess P went down the stairs. Each time down the stairs, she was instructed to hold onto the railing. Almost every time, she resisted, claiming she was an expert at balancing, railings were for sissies, and her way was faster and better (at least that's what I heard).

Then, on that fateful trip, it happened. Thump-a-thump... and she was down. Shrieking and cries for mommy were soon follow. Thanks to grandma's quick reaction time, Princess P only tumbled 3 or 4 steps, but the lesson was learned. Railings are bolted securely to the wall to assist in going up and down the stairs. If properly used, they will prevent devastating tumbles.

It was a lesson that was learned the hard way, but from now on, Princess P will (hopefully) use the railing.