Most people are familiar with the various laws that rule the physical world around us. The Law of Gravity comes to mind as one my children have had ample opportunity to familiarize themselves with. But there’s a whole plethora of helpful laws, detailed on the internet, that help describe other aspects of this life. To save you from the laborious task of firing up your search engine, I’ll detail some of the more interesting ones here:
The Law of Reality
Never get into fights with ugly people. They have nothing to lose.
The Law of Self Sacrifice
When you starve with a tiger, the tiger starves last.
Barnes’ Law
Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn’t have to do it himself.
The Law of Probable Dispersal
Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.
The Law of Volunteer Labor
People are always available for work in the past tense.
Oliver’s Law
Experience is something you don’t get until right after you need it.
The Law of Observance
It is what it is, and it ain’t what it ain’t.
To this inimitable list, I’d like to add my own freshly minted law. After much consideration and scrutiny, I have noticed that people tend to long for the “old days” when everything was easier. We’ll look at a child who is longing with all their might to get older and tell them, “You don’t know how good you have it right now! You have so little responsibility, all your needs are taken care of, you only have to walk uphill one way on your trips to and from school!” etc, etc ad nauseum.
After a little introspection, I found myself thinking of my whole life in those terms. When I was in college, I fondly recalled the days of High School. After I was married, I reflected on our dating life and perceived that it was somehow a little easier back then. Once our first child came along, I realized just how simple life had been before, and how little we had taken advantage of it. Then child number two came, and I laughed at how hard I thought we had it with only one child. Child number three showed up, and I wept great heaving sobs at my own ignorance in thinking that two was difficult. Therefore, without trying to put any further pessimistic bent on it, I give you:
Michael’s Law
Your life will never again be easier than it is right now.
I know that sounds really morbid when you write it out, but bear with me a minute. I didn’t say that life would never be more enjoyable or fun or fulfilling than it is right now; I only said it wouldn’t get any easier. There will always be another difficulty to rise up and take the place of the most recent obstacle you’ve overcome. The point of the law is to emphasize that we should try to look at our current situation and enjoy it for all its worth.
I know…easier said than done. But the law is the law.
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