Rough Edges

My dear Mother-in-law once commented at a 30th birthday party that

Your 30s are wonderful because by then, you've lost all your rough edges.

I think I know what she means about rough edges.

The rough edges are the little quirks that catch and snag

an otherwise smooth character.

Rough edges include short tempers,

impulsive decisions, and ego-mania.

They make it difficult to get over the little things.

They make you have bad days.

They make you feel insecure.

Sometimes a person's character is lousy with rough edges.

And sometimes they only have a few, but those few are fierce. 

If you're lucky, the moments when your rough edges appear 

will make you cringe someday.

I must be getting older, and, sure, lucky,

because I have a few cringe-worthy moments of my own.

Some of them I don't like to think about because it's painful.  Another day.

Others pop up at unexpected times.

I'll be washing the dishes and will remember a dinner party 12 years ago

where I finished my whole dinner while other people were still waiting for their entrees.

I'll be falling asleep and suddenly think about the time I snapped at my co-worker over some little thing.

And I think, How rude was that?

Learning from these moments is important.

Each lesson helps me be a better person and makes life a little smoother.

And they're reminders I've matured, even just a little bit, over the years.