I'm 80!

Today is my 80th birthday and I'm pretty grateful to have made it this far.  Normally I have very few aches and pains but right now I'm having one of my rare days with sciatica and it not only hurts but it's made my left leg a little weak so that walking is difficult.  Thank heavens I almost never have days like this or it might make me crabby.

I often reflect on what I would have done differently with my life and mainly I regret not getting a good education.  I quit school when at 16 thinking I was smart enough and more education at that moment was just a waste of my time.  I was so, so wrong.  Education in any shape or form only enriches your life so you should never stop learning.

I could wish I hadn't been foolish enough to get married at 17 but then I never would have had the wonderful family I have today.  The dynamics change with every change in direction.  Ever wonder how your life would have turned out if, when you reached that fork in the road, you'd gone left instead of right?  Well, mistakes and all, I'm grateful for the family I helped to create and wouldn't change that for the world.

I'm quite aware that turning 80 is significant in that there won't be a lot more birthdays for me.  I don't worry about it because I have strong, if not religious, beliefs of where I go when I die.  I envision peace, gardens, friends and family who have passed on already, and some kind of continued existence where I learn why I was born in the first place.  Someone better be ready to give me some answers!

I write this blog to impart information to my descendants who care to know who I was and how I felt.  Another one of my regrets is that I didn't delve more into my grandmother's life so that I could understand her better.  I plan on asking her a lot of questions when I meet up with her again, too.

The young tend to think that life is only good for the young but there are bonuses for every age.  Just try not to make too many mistakes you'll regret along the way and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the journey.