If Life came with an instruction booklet

You gotta hand it to Mother Nature (or whoever it is you think is pulling all the strings). She really has a tough job... just look at all the gruelling stuff we have to do just about managing two kids and a few office colleagues! 

If only I knew some of the stuff I know now.... I would have made much more hay while the sun shone with all its brightness; but here's some of the stuff I have finally learnt. While most of it is from the perspective of women, what the hell, guys can read it after certain improvisations...

• Playing 'tag' or 'hide and seek' with friends is a far superior alternative to all the stress management workshops put together.
• Wear that sexy red dress today. Tomorrow it will not fit (this is where that improvisation I was talking about would fit in nicely).
• Listen carefully to the baby-talk. Before you know it, you will be looking at a difficult teen who doesn't WANT to talk to you
• Go grab that long due coffee date with that friend you laugh the most with .... with the kind of jobs these days, they (or you) might relocate soon
• Yes, that perfume costs a BOMB. And it does look like the level is going down fast. But wear it anyway - you'll feel great!
• Do take the kids to the 'grown up' events when you can (book launches, blogger meets, etc.) .... you may look like a harried mom for a little while, but in truth, the world is admiring your guts.
• Its OK to mush out on movies like Pretty Woman. True, it happens only in movies, but it adds a zing to the 'what if' factor.
• Pay the bill sometimes, even when going out with friends / dates / 'its complicated types' who always insist on paying. Keeps the relationship interesting.
• It really is impossible to have everyone on your side all the time. So if someone doesn't agree with you / like you / think you are brilliant ...... too bad for them.
• No matter how much you love that pair of heels, it eventually NEEDS to go. You can either retire it gracefully, or wait for it to die on you.
• It is tempting to buy clothes a couple of sizes too big for growing kids, but do keep a few correct sized clothing too - they end up looking like ragamuffins or malnourished in large sized clothes. Same for shoes.
• Little kids ought to look like little kids. No point getting them to wear atrociously priced Katrina Kaif - lookalike outfits, only to have them trying to wear kiddie clothes later in life. (you will see quite a few too-short-too-tight clothes doing the rounds in a few years)
• If you don't like to cook, of sew, or any of the girlie stuff your mom said you should know (varna sasural mein kya karogey?), stay informed that you WILL positively be doing all of the above when you are a mom. So better to learn basics in the comfort of your mom's kind tutoring. Else you will spend a fortune in long distance calls for recipes and tips.
• A phone - ANY phone, will outlive its novelty value. Scratch guards, expensive leather covers, paranoid running around when you can't locate it, etc. will all be a waste of energy..... soon.
• When you buy a car (especially true of Delhi) be prepared to have your first dent on the way back home from the showroom. Prepare for the worst, and you may delay your first profanity-on-the-road incident.
• Give away stuff when they are in good condition - and always give them away nicely ironed, or packed well. Even if you are giving it away to the wayside waif - see the happiness it gives them - and YOU.
• Involve kids with the generosity - they learn to respect their life, and they learn compassion.

There is so much more that can be added to this list....... care to add on???