Normal is a setting on a washing machine. Agitation, upheaval, spinning, turning, swirling — it’s all part of the “normal” cycle of life.

There is a time and a place for teaching and a time and a place for rescuing.

When you charge batteries, you keep like-charged batteries together; you never just replace one — even though it’s tempting and it keeps the flashlight going at half the cost. Why? — the lower-charged battery SUCKS THE ENERGY out of the good battery.

I fretted for a bit, then slowly scooped as much of the yolk back into a pile in the middle of my egg, and went on with my day. Sure, it's a little sloppy. Life gets messy, after all. A life well lived, sunny-side up.

Many days we try hard, put in lots of effort and give it our best just to come in third. Third is a hard pill to swallow for any of us. We want to be first. We want our name in the record books. We want to be known for something.

And, so it is with the people in our lives. We learn to expect what we expect without ever imagining that it might be different — that life might be different. Start looking at life differently. You might just find it's not what you expected; it's better.

If you want spectacular, you have to tear up the box holding you back. You have to take a chance. You have to risk being bad in the hopes of being very good.

That young lady knows the secret not many know: You don’t always have to win to win.

Maybe the secret of life isn’t cleaning fish — maybe the secret lies in knowing the difference between “having to” clean fish and “getting to” clean fish.