midlifejourney.com

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER – by Erma Bombeck
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, ‘Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.’ There would have been more ‘I love you’s’ More ‘I’m sorry’s.’

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute.look at it and really see it . . live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

The following is a message that has been circulating around the net for a while. Sent to me by a good friend, I thought it worth passing on here. Cudos to the unknown author.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. Continue Reading »

Author: F. A. Rewell

I just looked at my investment portfolio. It isn’t pretty. This roller-coaster ride my retirement funds are taking is not fun.

I don’t know about you but I am getting more than nervous. Many of us in these “middle years” are trying to build a safety net of funds against the inevitable disappearance of that monthly social security check.

I know—you don’t want to even think about age 62, or 66 or 70 coming your way, but it will someday and saving for those “golden years” of relaxation and leisure is a goal we all should have. Only with the stock market, banks and financial institutions crashing, trashing and burning around us, my “golden years” are going up in smoke.

If only I had started back in my twenties to really begin to save… those early dollars would be worth a lot now, and be a cushion against this crisis. If only, if only….

I’ve witnessed many endings to this story:

• Those who saved every day, retired early, and refused to spend a dime of their savings, just in case there was another depression… never did anything, never went anywhere. Happy but dull.

• Those who never saved, spent their money faster than they earned it, enjoyed life, partied hearty, died quickly of a heart attack, leaving all their debt to anyone the collection agencies could find

• And then there are those who saved some, spent some, enjoyed some, got sick, didn’t die, lived in a moldy nursing home for ten years surrounded by urine soaked sheets, and covered with bed sores and totally forgotten by the world because everyone they ever knew had long ago died…

Am I depressing you?

The problem is quite frankly, I haven’t saved enough and don’t have nearly enough time to save more for retirement. I shall never be able to retire comfortably and will be bagging groceries or shelving books in the local library until I’m 95, provided I don’t get sick or fall and break some bone.

The best I can hope for is when I do actually fall ill, I will be flat broke and the government will take care of me.

Hmmm…. I think I’ll take my vitamins. Might even invest in pharmaceuticals.