Marsha Ingrao – Always Write

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BLOGANUARY #1: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR TEENAGE SELF

You’re going to make mistakes. Laugh at them rather than cry for more than a minute. The more embarrassing they are the funnier. Don’t apologize for everything. Make amends when possible. Move on. Don’t waste your time trying to make everyone love you. Move on if they don’t or if you don’t. Don’t worry about…

Marsha
1 minute
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Marsha, Peggy and Randy Morris circa 1969
  • You’re going to make mistakes. Laugh at them rather than cry for more than a minute. The more embarrassing they are the funnier.
  • Don’t apologize for everything. Make amends when possible. Move on.
  • Don’t waste your time trying to make everyone love you. Move on if they don’t or if you don’t.
  • Don’t worry about blemishes on you or anyone else. They go away. Wrinkles are coming!
  • Don’t stop exercising as you age. Develop your arms as well as your legs.
  • Stick with your educational plans. Get it done! Don’t give up! You got this girl!
  • Love your brother. He’s your closest relative. Ask what he’s thinking. Listen.
  • Don’t envy beautiful people. Their lives are not easy either.
  • Be thankful. You’re alive. You have food, clothing, shelter, and a family that loves you.

#1stbloganuaryprompt, #bloganuary, #daily-prompt

My blogging friend, the Eternal Traveller wanted me to share my skating story written in 2012 and again in 2021 along with some advice about not falling, which I did about 2 months after the post.

48 responses to “BLOGANUARY #1: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR TEENAGE SELF”

  1. bloggingwithjrp Avatar
    bloggingwithjrp

    Skating? I think you made a hasty reference to that a few years back. I didn’t pickup on it. WoW! Jack grew up in New England where most of the young boys started skating while young. He’s very good. My legs aren’t strong enough. Yes. I can remember how impatient we were with mother when she insisted each Christmas that we take photos. I’ve put them all in an album, and I’m eternally grateful to her. Rest her soul.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      And you have some great pictures! Yes, I earned my Gold Medal or Gold Bar skating, which was as high as you could go. I wanted to be a professional skater at one time.

      Like

      Reply
  2. Annika Perry Avatar
    Annika Perry

    Marsha, these are very wise words to your younger self! 😀 Oh, how younger us are always mortified at making mistakes only to realise much later that these are such precious, funny, moments that will live on through our stories!

    I love the photo of you skating – looking quite the pro! Sorry to hear you’ve had a fall and hope all is okay.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      Thanks, Annika. I did have a fall, one of many in my life, but that wasn’t what caused me the problem. I tore my meniscus playing pickleball – just twisted my knee. Being immobile for a while caused me to develop deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms. That was what did me in. Not that falling is great, but the two accidents happened about two weeks apart. You can imagine that as a skater, I fell quite a bit. LOL

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Jim Borden Avatar
    Jim Borden

    great pictures, and great advice to go along with it.

    another piece of advice, one that you obviously followed, is to take lots of pictures, and save them!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      Yes, my dad was a semi-professional photographer as well as an engineer. Going on photo shoots with him was one of my favorite memories with him. However, I hated him taking pictures of me! I’m glad now that he did. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  4. Sadje Avatar
    Sadje

    Great advice Marsha

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. the eternal traveller Avatar
    the eternal traveller

    I remember seeing that skating photo before. It was in the first post of yours I ever read and was all about your skating days. I laughed until I cried. Do you still have that post? You should post it again. It was brilliant.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      I do still have it. I’ll link it. Thanks, Carol. That’s probably why we became such good friends. I do make a lot of blunders. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. the eternal traveller Avatar
        the eternal traveller

        It was the best story ever but I think our friendship goes way deeper than that. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Marsha Avatar
          Marsha

          Our friendship is amazing, one of a kind, unbeatable. We do go way deeper than that. 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  6. Retirement Reflections Avatar
    Retirement Reflections

    I absolutely love this, Marsha. Great advice!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      Thanks, Donna. Are you doing Bloganuary too?

      Like

      Reply
  7. KL Caley Avatar
    KL Caley

    All great advice, Marsha. KL ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      Thanks, KL. The truth is I probably wouldn’t have listened. I knew it all, you know!

      Like

      Reply
  8. Life with Alegria Avatar
    Life with Alegria

    All great advice Marsha. I too was thinking along similar lines for this prompt. Love the pics too!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com Avatar
    Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com

    I would have similar advice for my teenage self… I wonder if she would listen or just roll her eyes?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      Do you see those rolly eyes on that teenaged-me? I don’t think my words would have made much of a dent. I already knew it all! LOL

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. Doug Jacquier Avatar
    Doug Jacquier

    As we would have said in those politically incorrect times, she’s got legs that go all the way up to her backside. 🙂
    My variation on your last line would have been ‘You have food, clothing, shelter, and a family that will never understand you. Get out while you’re still alive.’ 😉

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      LOL. I was lucky – we sort of did just that. My dad took those pictures, but he was there on vacation. The three of us left when I was 15. It was quite an adventure. But I ended up getting a B in spite of all that in Dad’s grading system at the end of his life. My husband and brother both got A’s and poor Mom got an F. She was devastated. The attorney laughed when he gave us dad’s binder diary. I have it still. Very funny in a very sad way!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  11. Terri Webster Schrandt Avatar
    Terri Webster Schrandt

    Yay, you hopped, rather skated, into the Bloganuary challenge, Marsha! Great advice! I’m waiting for Sunday’s prompt to see if it works for Sunday Stills, LOL!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      Now if I can skate through it, I’ll be okay. I’m still wondering if my trip will happen. Flights do not look too hopeful right now.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Terri Webster Schrandt Avatar
        Terri Webster Schrandt

        Oh no! That omicron variant is flying around and easy to catch, even if vaccinated. If it’s not meant to be…. just be safe!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Marsha Avatar
          Marsha

          I know. The last thing I want to do is catch it while I’m away. Vince cut out about a week ago, and I canceled two nights of hotel rooms. I have been fortunate so far not to catch it, but I’m wondering now why I thought it might be safe to fly in the winter. I should have listened to my advice to you! LOL!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. Terri Webster Schrandt Avatar
            Terri Webster Schrandt

            Yeah, you might want to save the trip for another time 😦

            Liked by 1 person

          2. Marsha Avatar
            Marsha

            Definitely. It was hard to do, but I’m relieved. 🙂

            Liked by 1 person

          3. Terri Webster Schrandt Avatar
            Terri Webster Schrandt

            Good idea! You won’t regret it!

            Liked by 1 person

          4. Marsha Avatar
            Marsha

            I won’t. I felt relief as soon as I made the decision.

            Liked by 1 person

  12. willowdot21 Avatar
    willowdot21

    Wonderful advice ❤️

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      Thanks, Willow. You’d make a great daughter. I’m not sure I would have listened. I can hear me saying, but you made it and you did all those things wrong.” I was a bit of a smart alec. 🙂

      Like

      Reply
      1. willowdot21 Avatar
        willowdot21

        Lol we are all guilty of that. My problem was I wanted to please everyone all the time…. I ended up being bullied…finally I’ve learned! 💜💜💜

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Marsha Avatar
          Marsha

          I’m glad you learned. I got my feelings hurt so much. Mom said she just didn’t feel as much as I did. She probably didn’t. I was super sensitive. I think I grew out of it somewhat after my dad died. I was 36 by then.

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          Reply
          1. willowdot21 Avatar
            willowdot21

            I was in my forties before I learned I was not a door mat. We all get there in the end. 💜💜💜

            Liked by 1 person

          2. Marsha Avatar
            Marsha

            What made you turn the corner, or should I ask? I’m so glad you did. You are such a lovely person.

            Like

          3. willowdot21 Avatar
            willowdot21

            My parents had passed on , I was having a shaky relationship with my hubby and I suddenly thought …no more . So I answered back , stood up for myself . Still with hubby and things are so much better now all round. We’ve been married 50yrs as of last August!

            Liked by 1 person

          4. Marsha Avatar
            Marsha

            WOW! that is so amazing, Willow. I had to learn that also. My husbands were not abusive by any means, but I tended to take their opinion over mine and I finally quit creating problems for myself. Children of narcissists often have issues like ours.

            Like

          5. willowdot21 Avatar
            willowdot21

            Yes indeed that’s so true. It’s so good to know we both made it through 💜💜

            Liked by 1 person

          6. Marsha Avatar
            Marsha

            Yay!

            Like

          7. willowdot21 Avatar
            willowdot21

            😉

            Liked by 1 person

          8. willowdot21 Avatar
            willowdot21

            Thank you for saying such a kind thing about me .❣️

            Liked by 1 person

  13. Cindy Georgakas Avatar
    Cindy Georgakas

    oh love this Marsha.. so cute of you in the pics and good advice!💖

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      You notice that I’m not listening, though. I just want to get out of there. Dad is probably saying something live move closer together. You can tell Randy just did or said something naughty or silly. Mom’s expression is priceless. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. Cindy Georgakas Avatar
        Cindy Georgakas

        And what might that have been… that you were fast to leave? Priceless is right 😂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Marsha Avatar
          Marsha

          Probably that Dad was telling us to do something or that Randy was trying to be funny and I was disgusted with both of them. I probably WAS in a hurry to get where we were going. And I hated having my picture taken. LOL. I wasn’t the most patient person in the world. 🙂

          Like

          Reply
  14. restlessjo Avatar
    restlessjo

    You, skating? Love it! Happy New Year, Marsha!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      I thought I was going to grow up to be a professional skater at one time. I loved it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  15. Cee Neuner Avatar
    Cee Neuner

    This is so very sweet 😀 😀

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Marsha Avatar
      Marsha

      Thanks, Cee. You can see I wasn’t too happy with having my picture taken and the whole family thing. I’m glad now I have it. I don’t have very many.

      Like

      Reply

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