1. Life isn't always beautiful. That was a lesson that Dan was learning.

He
also realized that life wasn't easy. This had come as a shock since he had
lived a charmed life. He hated that this was the truth and he struggled to
be happy knowing that his assumptions weren't correct. He wouldn't
realize until much later in life that the difficult obstacles he was facing
that were taking away the beauty in his life at this moment would
ultimately make his life much more beautiful. All he knew was that at
this moment was that life isn't always beautiful.

2. The trail to the left had a "Danger! Do Not Pass" sign telling people to
take the trail to the right. This wasn't the way Zeke approached his
hiking. Rather than a warning, Zeke read the sign as an invitation to
explore an area that would be adventurous and exciting. As the others in
the group all shited to the right, Zeke slipped past the danger sign to
begin an adventure he would later regret.

3. Pink ponies and purple giraffes roamed the field. Cotton candy grew
from the ground as a chocolate river meandered off to the side. What
looked like stones in the pasture were actually rock candy. Everything in
her dream seemed to be perfect except for the fact that she had no
mouth.

4. He had disappointed himself more than anyone else. That wasn't to say
that he hadn't disappointed others. The fact was that he had disappointed
a lot of people who were close to him. The fact that they were
disappointed in him was something that made him even more
disappointed in himself. Yet here he was, about to do the exact same
things that had caused all the disappointment in the first place because
he didn't know what else to do.
 5. Don't forget that gifts often come with costs that go beyond their
purchase price. When you purchase a child the latest smartphone, you're
also committing to a monthly phone bill. When you purchase the latest
gaming system, you're likely not going to be satisfied with the games
that come with it for long and want to purchase new titles to play. When
you buy gifts it's important to remember that some come with additional
costs down the road that can be much more expensive than the initial gift
itself.

6. He sat across from her trying to imagine it was the first time. It wasn't.
Had it been a hundred? It quite possibly could have been. Two hundred?
Probably not. His mind wandered until he caught himself and again tried
to imagine it was the first time.

7. It had become a far too common an event in her life. She has specifically
placed the key to the box in a special place so that she wouldn't lose it
and know exactly where it was when the key was needed. Now that she
needed to open the box, she had absolutely no idea where that special
spot she placed the key might be.