Important life lessons learned

A recent survey question asked me,  "Jump ahead to the end of your life. What are the three most important lessons you have learned?"

Here is how I responded

• Family first!
• Everything happens for a reason, even if you don't know or understand the reason when the thing happens.
• Do what makes you happy.  If you are happy, everything else just falls into place.

I had a hard time limiting myself to three so here are a few more that bubbled to the top of my mind:

• There are very few problems that cannot be fixed.  Some just take more time and sometimes the fix isn't always what you want it to be
• Do your best, because it is the best you can do
• You cannot control what other people say and do

A following question was, "Why are these so critical?"

• Because this is life... and as far as I know, I only get one shot at it
• Friends and acquaintances come and go, but family is always there
• Great families are made of people that help each other out
• Sometime things happen in our lives that we aren't happy with, but after all is said and done, somehow, some way, what happened, needed to happen
• Because, at the end of my life, I can't imagine what it would feel like thinking I wasn't ever truly happy in my life

I really enjoyed answering those questions and for no reason in particular, I felt like sharing them. :)

H1N1!! What have you done!?!

The rant you are about to receive is brought to you by the letter H and by the number 1.

I turn on the TV and it's "H1N1 is believed to be responsible for [X] deaths so far!"
I turn on the radio and it's "Get your vaccination at the following clinics....hurry!"
I read my news feeds and it's "H1N1 H1N1 H1N1 H1N1..."
Someone is sick and it's "Do you think they have H1N1?? OMG!"

AAAAAAAAARGGG!

Ok.  I understand that there is a very bad flu virus going around that has the potential to cause major complications and possible death for some people.  As far as I know those in the high-risk category include people who already have health complications, young children, pregnant women, and adults over sixty-five.  But isn't that true for every other flu virus we've seen so far??  I swear I've heard this same sort of thing every year.  Every fall, when cold and flu season hits I distinctly remember hearing about how you should get your yearly flu shot if you are in the higher risk categories.

So why is everyone freaking out about this one? I'm not sure. Maybe it's because someone gave it a scary name: "H1N1"  It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie.  It's the name of the chemical the government accidentally released that is turning the human race into rampant zombies.  Even better is how "regular" influenza viruses are now getting their own name.  I recently had a case of the flu and was told it was probably "H2N3".  What!?

What makes me sad is how we are reacting to this piglademic.  I find myself scared to cough or sneeze. People look at you like you have the plague.  We now cough into our inner elbows instead of our hands (like we were taught all of our lives).  There are hand sanitizer dispensers everywhere!  I can't count how many times I've smelled a rubbing alcohol-like aroma in the air.  Hand sanitizers come in travel, small, medium, large, and industrial sized packaging.  You can get it plain, with aloe, scented, colored... the list goes on.

But most importantly, that started this whole rant, was a recent experience I had with someone I meet with on a regular basis.  We just finished having our meeting and were getting ready to part ways.  As always, I extended my hand to have our usual parting hand-shake.  I was denied.  Instead he offered to bump elbows or upper arms.  It was one of the most awkward moments I've ever had.

  Unknown - 2009

Here lies our beloved Hand Shake

A symbol of friendship, respect, and courtesy, it was loved by many

Tragically, it was struck down by H1N1

RIP

As far as I am concerned, we are one step closer to bubble suits and decontamination stations!