My friend Marsha at Breathings of the Heart subscribes to a blog by Dave Bruno’s.

She found him when she came upon on his “100 Thing Challenge.” He is the same guy who inspired my post on purging.  Anyway, she discovered a new post of his on the 10 ways that he has changed over time and decided to write one of her own.

I like the list so much that I decided to write one too. And it makes a nice change from all the death and dying talk of late. A person can only go to that well so often before it’s either – throw yourself in or fix the indoor plumbing.

1. Once the mall was a weekend outing. Now I shop on line and only when I really need something and I find malls a bit overwhelming in a country mouse kind of way.
2. Once I ran ten miles every day. Now, sadly, I can only walk several days a week and take yoga classes, but I am actually getting into better shape because the running was punishing in ways I wasn’t aware of at the time. Ah, the insulation of youth.
3. Once I loved teaching and thought I could make a difference. Now, not so much.
4. Once I used to fret and worry over what people thought of me. Now, a little less every day and that is progress.
5. Once I watched a lot of television. Now I never watch to the point that I am puzzled by it when I do.
6. Once I thought I would make a group of someones a great mom who would know all the right things to do. Now I know that there is no such thing as a great parent or such a thing as being born to parent. We do the best we can and kids do the rest. And it’s usually pretty good.
7. Once I thought I wasn’t good enough to write for a living. Now I know that was crap.
8. Once I thought that being thin would make me happy. Now I know it just makes me healthy.
9. Once I hid from the world in books. Now I write books.
10. Once I thought that if I could just hang on, have faith and work hard, I would be happy again someday. I was right.