Every time I hear this song I stop….what I am doing, and just listen….really listen to the words. Baz Lurhmann was ahead of his time, or was he? Take some time and read this post, the whole way through….it really makes you think:

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99, if I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth;

oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you. Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss. Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…”

Many thoughts for the day….and the year…the year that a lot of the people I know will turn over into a new decade. WOW!

I love being an aunt. I think it is the greatest job in the world. I say it is a job because I think it is. As an aunt, you are an extension of their parents with the lessons and rules that they are expected to follow, but you are also a mentor and teacher for your nieces and nephews. 

A few weeks ago my two nieces spent the afternoon here with my at my condo. After giving them lunch we embarked on the fun part of the afternoon. They both took turns being my ‘teacher’ and having me practice my alphabet in upper and lower case, getting marked on my homework (getting an “x” when I didn’t do my upper case “J” properly), doing arts and crafts, and then of course the main event – making cookies. That is a tradition that my mom started with the children in her life coming to her house at an early age. All from scratch, cracking the egg, putting in the sugars, flour, vanilla – the whole deal – and of course what is more fun than eating the dough as you go along? haha…I digress.

I love every minute I spend with my nieces. They are not ‘babies’ anymore, which makes every visit interesting, to say the least. Zoe notices EVERYTHING, and will call you out on something if she sees fit. Everyone, including her, knows that my love for purple, and she even notices when I am NOT wearing something purple, and comments on it. When we went to Mexico for my cousin’s wedding I told Zoe that a “kiss” in Spanish is ‘beso’ and I would say to her, “give me a besito” which means a little kiss, or a peck. She started to kiss on both cheeks, and that is the way we always kiss. It is ‘our thing’ and it makes it special just for us.

And then there is Jaime. She is so different to Zoe and also such an amazing young lady. She is serious, and funny, and everything rolled into one amazing girl. We went to the dollar store and I had to buy a notebook for work, and I bought her one, and she took it home and started right away to do ‘her work’. She constantly wants to know, “how do you spell…this or that”…and is always watching and scoping out the scene, taking it all in.

And now my boy….Ezra….he is six months old now, and laughs, and smiles and changing so fast. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of boy he will be; how he will manage with the two girls; and what it will be like to be an aunt to a boy now, instead of just ‘the girls’.

As I said at the beginning, I think being an Aunt (or an Uncle) is a job. It is a job that starts the day your first niece or nephew is born, and you have that job for the rest of your life! I can’t wait to see how the job unfolds. Bring it on Zoe, Jaime and Ezra…I am ready for you!

Love Auntie Lisa (1)