Life is Bittersweet

To Expect it to be otherwise is to be a fool.

This is why I call myself a compassionate pragmatist.

But, I would call my wife an optimist

I met her when I was around 46

At the time I needed to meet her to continue to be alive

I needed her optimism

It's not that I'm a pessimist, instead I would say I'm a pragmatist from all I've seen in life.

My parents taught me to live by the old American Settler motto which is:

"Prepare for the worst and hope for the best" which is how the settlers of the U.S. survived

which eventually morphed into the boy Scout motto of "Be Prepared".

When I grew up remember there were no cell phones, there were no helicopters to rescue you yet.

There weren't many hospitals and even then people mostly didn't trust doctors or hospitals much in

the 1950s because they really weren't to be trusted much yet. After all, there were still doctors on TV

telling people cigarettes were safe to smoke as long as you had filters on your cigarettes.

This is how it really was in the 1950s here in the U.S.

To never expect to see your relatives or parents die isn't realistic if you intend or happen to live to an

old age past about 50.

 At at certain point you find you are staying alive mostly for your children and Grandchildren to pass

on whatever wisdom and kindness you can be an example for them that they might remember and

learn to be as kind as they can to other people and still survive whatever comes in their lives.

Life is equally difficult at every age you might be so don't get used to the types of difficulties you are

having when you are young, because you will face much different problems as you age.

I read a book once called "Life Begin s At 40" written I think in the 1920s or 1930s. It basically said,

"LIfe begins at 40 if you have all your ducks in a row." The ducks being friends, family, money,

home, retirement and health. If you have all these ducks in a row then "Life can actually begin at 40

for you."

I didn't have all my ducks in a row by 40 but I did by 50 so that's why I'm okay now at 70 next spring.

So, don't give up because if you are innovative there are always ways for "Life to begin at 40 or 50 for you."

It's amazing just how innovative God has made us all to be!

By God's Grace.