Yesterday, my co-workers and I had a picnic on the grass at Taco Bell, because that’s what you do when a once-in-a-lifetime event happens. It was so momentous, I asked a college kid hanging out in the parking lot with cardboard eyewear to take a picture of us.

Kelli, the youngest among us, who also happened to once-upon-a-time work at Disney World, commented on the picture as we drove back to the office.

“Look at Rhonda’s Peter Pan power pose!”

It was amusing, but it sure had me thinking all afternoon and evening.

After “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” and “Dances with Wolves,” my third all-time favorite movie is “Hook.”

I’m 52 years old. But for most of my adult life, I have felt like a child. Some parts of my world were just hard to adult. On the other hand, I’m 52 years old, and parts of my world have made me more “old” than 52.

“Life is but a brief moment between eternities. There is no better time than now to assess the values which are worthy of our existence on this earth.” – James Dobson

I can sometimes relate to Peter Banning, the attorney in the movie, living life all hurried and stressed, missing the important things and priorities all out of whack. I can relate to his mistakes, to his regrets, to his failures in parenting. I can relate to the inner bully that reminds on a daily basis about the past.

In the last six years, though, I have begun to Peter Pan just a little.

• I’ve learned that regret and bitterness do not make friends.
• I’ve learned to love green.
• I’ve learned that it’s fun to take road trips and escape to Neverland with my best friend.

To live, to LIVE would be an awfully big adventure. – Robin Williams 

• I’ve learned that life is too short to always be proper and stern.
• I’ve learned that food fights are much more fun than silent fights.
• I’ve learned to name the blessings, count them, think of them. I’ve learned that thinking happy thoughts is freedom with wings.
• I’ve learned that it’s okay to be me, mistakes and flaws and shortcomings and all. I am who I am, and I need to see myself as GOD sees me, not as the world judges me.
• I’ve learned that going away and distance from loved ones makes you forget. I’ve learned that life is too short to stay away too long.

• I’ve learned just recently that leggings aren’t so awful.
• I’ve learned that having loyal friends, even if they’re lost, is pixie dust to my soul.

• I’ve learned to like what I do, not do what I like.
• I’ve learned that no matter how hard I try to adult, when I am hurt on the inside and the world is mean, I am still just a little girl and want to cry, “Save me Daddy!”
• And I’ve learned that when I am weak, sometimes all it takes is a power pose and a confident “chin up” to the heavens to face the unknown and let the Son shine.