52. I like to be a little early for any type of appointment. That way I can relax and catch my breath before jumping into anything.
53. I am an abuse survivor and that makes a difference in everything I do, see, and think.
54. Survival makes you strong in places that others don’t know they need to be, but it also makes you aware of just how fragile life truly is.
55. I have very few regrets and I find that amazing.
56. Being a survivor, the Freedom to Choose is a basic cornerstone of my belief system. I try, very hard, to offer that to everyone I come in contact with, because I prize it so highly.
57. That means that I am constantly in need of checking my own actions toward others. I can manipulate as well as anyone else and am aware that the best I can do is curb that desire within me. I do succeed, but not always.
58. Honesty is also an important element for me. That stems from the past, but will continue to affect much of the way I see, do, and think. I don’t think that is a negative thing, I see it as a lesson with a great deal of value that only increases with time.
59. I think that each of us is here for a reason and a purpose. It might take an entire lifetime to discover what those are, but I don’t think there is much of value without that knowledge.
60. I would like to think that ice cream is a top priority for existence, but it just doesn’t ring true, you know what I mean?
61. I think one of the hardest things to do is to watch your children make some of the choices they must make to learn how to be whoever they will become.
62. Sometimes, the best support and encouragement one can give is to choose to keep ones mouth shut.
63. I will be 63 years old in April. When the hell did that happen?
64. Because of #63, I can say with complete and utter sincerity, that it is never too late for anything.
65. The possibility of feeling foolish, or looking silly is never a good reason to not attempt something. Better to look a fool than to be one.
66. Allowing oneself the opportunity to look foolish is usually the first step in learning something very important. Besides, it usually makes for a good story with shared laughter and that’s not a bad price to pay for doing so.
67. Symbolism exists all around us. If we fail to learn that language, we may miss at least half, if not more of our existence and its true meaning.
68. “That’s just the way things are and nothing can be done about it,” is the cry of a defeatist, but should be seen as a challenge to anyone who hears it.
69. I loved teaching, and was terrified that if I did it, I would look or appear to be foolish. I felt that way every moment I first stood in front of a classroom or group of people. I learned how to talk myself past that feeling.
70. I love words, their meanings, history, and uses. I seldom get the last one, which is probably why I love blogging so much.
1sojournal 
52 is a striking difference between us; I don’t like arriving early because it means sitting around waiting, and the longer I wait, the more anxious I get. I’m not fond of waiting areas. Mum likes to be really early for things (often by 15 minutes to half an hour) and she says if they are running fast rather than running late, sometimes you get in earlier than you were meant to. I wonder if she sometimes gets in before people before her on the list who were on time but not yet there! So maybe they arrive and think “gosh, they running late today…”
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I am always anxious about appointments, period. Lol, I said I like to get there early, but that doesn’t mean I always do, especially now that I have to depend on outside transportation. That is an anxiety all its own. I do prefer to arrive a few minutes early so that I can just breathe for a few minutes and relax from all the getting ready busyness of getting there in the first place. And your Mum is right, I sometimes do get in ahead of schedule simply because I am there waiting. The opposite is also true. On my last blood tests, they simply forgot that I was there and I waited for about an hour. Just more anxiety.
Elizabeth
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