It's Okay

You see these posts on social media that are titled things like 'a list of things for my son' or 'every rule my daughter needs to follow'.  Once they gain momentum on social media sites, it's hard to slow them down.  Then they go away for a bit, then suddenly reappear.  There isn't anything wrong with them.  I usually read through these and get a smile or two out of them.  I have my own list like that.  I call it my 'It's Okay' list.  

It's okay to be the 'work parent'.  Be the person that others go to for advice.  Life advice, work advice, it doesn't matter.  Be the person that younger co-workers go to.  My wife tells me plenty of stories of people she works with that come to her for day in and day out advice.  It helps that she works with people that are ten to twelve years younger than we are.  It gives you the opportunity to be a life mentor without it being a stupid program. 

It's okay to not like 'classics'.  Whether it is movies, books, art, whatever.  It's fine for you to not like something just because it is considered a classic.  There have been several books that are classics that I just didn't like.  'The Sound and the Fury' and 'Tropic of Cancer' to name a few.  Most Hemingway as well.

It's okay for your favorite pop culture item to be something other than a classic.  One of my favorite books I have read is called '44 Dublin Made Me' by Peter Sheridan.  It's his memoir about growing up in Ireland.  Yes, I have my favorite classic books, but it's nice to have a favorite that maybe not everyone has heard of.

It's okay to binge watch an entire season of a show in one day.  Streaming services have made this a possibility the past few years.  Personally, I can sit and watch a few hours worth of television shows but I cannot, on the regular, sit and watch eight or nine episodes of a show in one day.  Sometimes it's nice to escape the day and laze around.

It's okay to spoil yourself.  Sometimes it can be something as small as stopping at Dairy Queen and getting yourself a treat just because.  It can be going out and buying something new like a work outfit, a book, or a case of craft beer.  I have a wedding to go to in the fall and on my last day off, I went out and bought some new dress clothes.  I'm not a huge shopper, but it was fun to do on a day off. 

This last one isn't an 'it's okay', but I'm going to throw it on here.  Everyone should own at least one jazz album.  I'm talking Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald.  Jazz musicians feel music at a whole other level than other musicians.  It's just something you need to hear, and once you do it'll stick with you.