It took 30 years to learn that?

When a rainstorm ruined each of our plans on Sunday evening, my roommate Cody and I tried to get a little bit creative. What follows is an example of what might happen when two bloggers get bored...

Side note: We only published the entire post on my blog, but you'd be blessed to visit her blog, too! You can see her always gracious words here: http://www.codyandras.com/

At 28 and 29 years old, we (Lindsee and Cody) made a list of 28 and 29 things we’d learned on our separate blogs. So surely, now that we’re 30 and 31, we could collaboratively come up with a list of 60. That's what we naively thought at 5pm on Sunday. As you’ll see, we only got to thirty, and that took us the better part of the Tony Awards. We're not sure what it says about us that these are our thirty life lessons, but we hope you'll enjoy.

1. It’s possible to survive without Blue Bell for an entire summer, but not advisable. (Also, Blue Bell is two words, not one.) 
   
2. Laughing diffuses every situation, for the laughter. (But not necessarily for those around them.) Laughter is either contagious or infuriating.
3. Cody has recently learned what Lindsee has known for a while, that there are song lyrics for every situation in life. (Special thanks to our other roommate Bethany for her impressive talent in this area.)
4. How to respond in the case of severe weather. (At the very least we’ve learned that it’s wise to know when severe weather is actually approaching. Shout out to our Dads who keep us informed!)
5. Boredom is an invitation to spontaneity. (If this joint post goes well, we may attempt more posts where we describe in detail some of our spontaneous adventures that were birthed out of boredom. #latenightlists)

   

   ...like, a Safari Park...

   
6. If God’s aim is to make us more like Himself, He’ll use whatever season or situation we are in to do just that. (We’re all in the same boat.)
7. We’ve learned to do our hair better now than in middle school thanks in large part to technological advances. (ex. The hair wand and the straightener. And we’ve also learned the value of a good hairdryer.) *We apologize for not having photographic evidence of said life lesson. Just trust us.*
8. Nails were created to be painted. (If you wanna know what kind of week we’ve had, just look at our nails. However, we tend be opposites here. Rough nails means Lindsee’s had a rough week; Cody finds a way to keep her nails shiny when nothing else is.)
9. Acne isn’t just for adolescents. (But we’ve individually tried every remedy known to man. And some we thought up on our own. We’re pretty sure it’s the 11^th plague.)
10. Honest Kids juice boxes aren’t just for kids. (Just being honest.)
    
11. We know how to be single. (We’ve been told we excel at it, unfortunately.)
12. Having friends in all different generations enriches life. (We love y’all!)
13. God really is a good, good Father. (Even though sometimes we forget that.)
14. How to efficiently hang things on the wall. (You’re welcome.)
15. Friends that will laugh with you and at you are good to keep around. (They keep you human and remind you not to take things too seriously.)
16. No one can read your mind. (Communication is key.)
17. Change takes time and even good changes are a little bit painful. (And we guess that’s okay. And maybe worth it.)
18. Rodents will not kill you. Neither will reptiles. (Actually some reptiles might. But not the kinds that we’ve encountered. Lindsee’s still working on roaches.)

    

    But still. Their place is outside. 

19. Vulnerability is risky, but it’s worth it. (That took us ten years to come up with.)
20. Homemade popcorn far surpasses bagged popcorn in quality. (And probably won’t kill you as quick.)
    
21. Good friends can have serious conversations about trivial and deep things. (It’s called balance.)
22. Asking the right questions makes all the difference in the world. (This is true of others and of google.)
23. You do not outgrow feeling left out. But you learn to behave better when you do. (Most of the time)
24. “Give credit to whom credit due.” Samuel Adams (See how easy that was?)
25. In case you were curious, it takes a massive jug of windshield wiper fluid to refill your car. (Can be found at your local grocery store.)
    
26. Sometimes it warrants a phone call. (When in doubt, err on the side of calling.)
27. You don’t have to know what to say, you just have to know how and when to listen. (No one is ever offended by your willingness to listen. We should do more of that.)
28. The schemes of the enemy are crafty, yet so obvious. His main goal is to get our attention off of Jesus Christ. (He likes it when our minds wander.)
29. Snail mail never gets old. (Message us for our address. And send us yours, too, please and thank you.)
30. A late-night bowl of cereal is always a good idea. (But a bowl of ice cream might be a better one. Speaking of…)

Bonus lessons from Bethany:

• Did you know that not every cloud has a silver lining? It’s the light behind the cloud that gives them the silver lining. We think there’s a lesson to be learned there, no?
  
• You can take a lot of good pictures by “just pointing and clicking.” (Don’t over think it.)

Now that we’ve over thought this post, goodnight.