When I was young(er), and more idealistic, I set rules and standards for myself. Some of them made perfect sense, other less so.
With time, and the challenges life brings, I have made compromises on pretty much all those idealistic rules and standards.
The things I don’t compromise on are being true, honest, caring, and giving to the people around me. I don’t compromise on helping those in need, or those that might not even realize they need help. I don’t compromise on my true ideals, but I do compromise on things that actually don’t matter in the grand scheme of my life.
Sometimes you have to go to McD’s. Especially when driving the Mass Pike. Compromises are made in what you order, not that you order at all.
I used to steadfastly believe I could keep everything in my memory, and writing things down was just a way to reinforce that. Now, I have a picture of my sound board because the 3.5-year-old loves to come and move all the sliders and knobs around and it is just easier to have a picture telling me where things should be set.
Trivial? Yes, but the insight is that compromising on the trivial doesn’t mean compromising on life. It means finding ways to keep going, get shit done, and come out the other side sane.
And here I am, beer half done, on January 12, right in the middle of my dry January. Compromises will be made, life will go on.