Eight things I learned in April

Emily Freeman hosts a monthly link-up called “What I’ve learned this month” for both the  silly and serious things we learn. All kinds of learning! I’ve been meaning to do it since January, but ya’ll know how my life went down a different path than planned. So, April it is :). I learned …

 

1. The DVR may accidentally record a new show and you’ll like it. This is how I discovered Mr. Selfridge in the second season.

2. Golden Shanghai has delicious, authentic Chinese food! The Chinese friends who ate with us agree =). Not sure if being far, far away from me is good or bad. Probably both.

3. Four months into hosting the #Oneword365 monthly link-up, there are folks who’ve been linking up from the beginning. The slow, meandering unfolding of a word in their lives is helping me slow down myself.

4. I’ve worked with editor before, but this month I have a post I’ve been working on (check back Thursday) and had a small group of friends/editors look at it – WOW, did their input take it up a notch! Editing is good!

5. Grief is so very individual. I’m finding (and this won’t be a rocket science announcement here), many of us approach other people’s grief through the lens of our own experience. I sometimes feel a bit guilty I’m not doing worse than people expect. Or by not doing worse I’m dishonoring how much my dad meant to me. Life really does go on after loss. And it’s OK. And that doesn’t mean you didn’t love someone or they didn’t impact you or you don’t miss them. OK, so that’s a whole love of lessons in one point.   

6. I spoke at a Senior Monthly Luncheon (really, many of the people were quite elderly). I’d been told to keep my words to only ten minutes and not to be surprised if people didn’t listen to me. I spoke on several myths about China and the vast majority of the 190 or so present tracked and seemed rather engaged. Afterwards as I walked around the room, while they ate lunch, many wanted to keep talking with me (and I even got a kiss on the check from a lovely widower). Here is what I learned – they were engaged because they were approached as human beings. Not talked down to. They have lived rich full lives and just want space to share their stories and be reminded of their lives.

7. At Monticello I learned tulips used to be much shorter, but have been bred to have longer stems for vases.

8. Keep up with gardening. You can’t really take a year or two off. I’ll leave it at that.

 

9. And one from March – Hire someone to record the funeral or memorial service of your loved one. We did, but we thought it was for the purpose of family members who weren’t able to attend my father’s service in February. In March, when a friend was visiting and she also hadn’t been able to attend, Mom and I watched the service with her. Later we commented how helpful it was to watch again when we weren’t in the midst of it. So, yes, record for those who can’t be there; but even if everyone is able to attend, record it for yourself.

How about you? What’s something you learned in April?