Two: Marry a man / woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

Three: Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

Four: When you say, “I love you,” mean it.

Five: When you say, “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye.

Six: Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

Seven: Believe in love at first sight.

Eight: Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.

Nine: Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.

Ten: In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

Eleven: Don’t judge people by their relatives.

Twelve: Talk slowly but think quickly.

Thirteen: When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”

Fourteen: Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

Fifteen: Say “bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.

Sixteen: When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

Seventeen: Remember the three Rs: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

Eighteen: Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

Nineteen: When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

Twenty: Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

Twenty-One: Spend some time alone.

After a while you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn
that love doesn’t mean leaning
and company doesn’t always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren’t contracts
and presents aren’t promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow’s ground is
too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down
in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn.

“Author Unknown”