Every woman should have ...

1) one old love she can imagine going back to...
2) and one who reminds her how far she has come;
3) enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to;
4) something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour;
5) a youth she's content to leave behind...
6) a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age;
7) a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra;
8) one friend who always makes her laugh...
9) and one who lets her cry;
10) a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family;
11) eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored;
12) a feeling of control over her destiny.

Every woman should know...
1) how to fall in love without losing herself;
2) how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship;
3) when to try harder...
4) and when to walk away;
5) that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents;
6) that her childhood may not have been perfect... but its over;
7) what she would and wouldn't do for love or more;
8) how to live alone, even if she doesn't like it;
9) whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally;
10) where to go- be it to her best friend's kitchen table, or a charming inn in the woods when her soul needs soothing;
11) what she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month...and a year.

Stumbled upon this list my best friend sent me years ago. Maybe it's age, or perhaps it's the coming of Fall (or the fact that it's 1.30 in the morning, Jude's asleep, there's nothing good on TV, and I'm too tired to read but too awake to sleep) which nudges one towards a quiet brand of pensiveness. Taking stock of the twentysomething years of my conscious life (I doubt I should be held accountable for the early years of my existence where even basic ingestion was beyond my own free will), of the twenty-five things, I'm blessed (or so I hope) to admit to fifteen of them. That's not a bad record I suppose- good to know the first twenty-nine years of my life have been rich in its own ways, and even better to know that there's yet more in my life to learn and live.