I Have Learned

I’ve Learned… 
That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I’ve Learned…
That when you’re in love, it shows.

I’ve Learned…
That just one person saying to me, “You’ve made my day!” makes my day.

I’ve Learned…
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I’ve Learned…
That being kind is more important than being right.

I’ve Learned…
That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I’ve Learned…
That I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the strength to help him in some other way.

I’ve Learned…
That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I’ve Learned…
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I’ve Learned…
That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I’ve Learned…
That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I’ve Learned…
That we should be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for.

I’ve Learned…
That money doesn’t buy class.

I’ve Learned…
That it’s those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I’ve Learned…
That under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I’ve Learned…
That the Lord didn’t do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I’ve Learned…
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I’ve Learned…
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I’ve Learned…
That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I’ve Learned…
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I’ve Learned…
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I’ve Learned…
That there’s nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.

I’ve Learned…
That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I’ve Learned…
That life is tough, but I’m tougher.

I’ve Learned…
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I’ve Learned…
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I’ve Learned…
That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her, one more time, before she passed away.

I’ve Learned…
That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I’ve Learned…
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I’ve Learned…
That I can’t choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I’ve Learned…
That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you’re hooked for life.

I’ve Learned…
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.

I’ve Learned…
That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life-threatening situation.

I’ve Learned…
That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

I’ve learned that sometimes when you don’t know what the future holds it’s best to look back on the past year and see where you’ve been and how far you’ve come. what doesn’t kill you makes a fighter.

it’s the people who think they’re crazy enough to change the world that actually do.

This weekend was perfect.  After everything we’ve gone through it was so nice to finally get away for a little bit and just do something different and relax the two of us alone for a while. seeing his pappy and how much it meant to bryant and him made it special for me and mean something to me. his pappy and his house reminded me of grandma mary and just was bittersweet. it was really nice of his pappy to tell bryant to take me to his grandma’s chocolate kitchen in the basement and then to give me some of the remaining two slabs of chocolate that pretty much signify his grandma was really special and a nice gesture. bryant even told me in the car how much it meant to him and that that showed him that pappy can see how much bryant cares about me too which was really nice and made me want to cry like happy tears. bry was saying how pappy’s sick and will probably die sometime in the next few years but that he’ll always look back on that day stopping there as one of his best memories and it made me happy to know i shared that with him. even getting to philly and just seeing the place we were staying at and how appreciative he was about everything was really nice.  walking around and not being able to find a place for dinner to stopping at the billiards place with crab cages on the lamps where thankfully he followed my lead in leaving to ending up at the bbq grill on walnut/chestnut st where we had the perfect dinner. and totally called it out that we wouldnt be able to eat all of our meals bc we always eat too much of the appetizers but still did that anyway just made me laugh. it was perfect. hanging out at the hotel and talking and watch basketball was so relaxing and nice. the whole conversation that night was nice hearing why he loves me and that i make him a better person and how we both challenge each other in the good way.  It just made me really appreciative of him and thankful to see he realizes what he has with me.  hearing how not having sex has been the greatest thing for him to remember all the important things in a relationship and see what’s really worth it meant a lot to me to hear. the fact that he said i make him feel the way he did before he started dating when he was like 16, to be able to bring back all those first time feelings is really nice. and how he said we have just been in rhythm with kissing since day one says a lot too. how regardless of whether we’re together forever or not that i’ve changed his life by showing him the joys of having a big family and of living close to family. hearing him say that he wants 4 or 5 kids made me really happy and it was nice to hear that although he wants to do a lot of traveling and see the world that at the end of the day we want the same thing. and for him to mention how we have similar childhood memories of princeton and our dad’s tucking us in bed, etc. it’s nice to see the similar foundations we have. he’s just such a great guy and made me feel very special this weekend. it really was perfect. just going to the bar for a few minutes was great and then relaxing was nice. the mutter museum was pretty cool minus us both feeling slightly nauseous. pat’s famous steaks philly cheesesteaks were delicious and we sure wolved them down.. yum. even just riding in the car and talking the whole time was special. i do love him and this weekend was just a reinforcement of that. hearing him say how happy he was that i proved him wrong that we could work on this and be better and how we’ve both been putting in a lot of effort means a lot to me.

tomorrow is dinner with his family and ill give him his gift. hope he likes it<3

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Peter Hermann, husband to Mariska Hargitay & co-founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation