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Not a case of being idle (anything but ... can you say treadmill?) ... but a case of many lost years due to economic destruction.
The first wave of destruction was at our own collective hand, as we facilitated the massive offshoring and outsourcing of good paying jobs during the 1990s and into the 00s a bit.
The second wave was the Crash of '07 - '08.
People who spent most of their careers during the period between the late 1950s and the late 80s had a vastly different experience. Sure there was inflation during part of that plus a few tough years in terms of unemployment when the Fed raised interest rates to combat inflation. But those issues were nothing like the two I mentioned above in terms of long term set backs on careers and personal finances.
Same here, it was the last recession that did it in for me. But I'm still getting to see the US a little at a time, and someday I'm going to be a homesteader to try to be as self sufficient as possible. We already have some land, we're just waiting for it to be paid off enough to farm/build on. I can't wait!
Interesting question -- it fits the old axiom, 'Life is what happens while you are preparing to do something else.' I suppose the question is really, 'Did you do the best you could with what you had to work with?'
In that context, I would have to say that I did better than expected ... career, ministry, family, travel, accomplishments and now retirement. I really have no regrets and even though I made some mistakes, I learned from them ... and wouldn't change anything in the past, that might change today's outcome.
Hind sight is 20/20 they say ,but we work with the information at hand.
I have a lot more information now than I had when I was a kid , sure I wish I were smarter then, but I had other priorities growing up and plenty of distraction to fill each day.
Dad had a plaque ( being a Christian home) "Only one life twill soon be past , only what's done for Christ will last"
My parents helped other people all the time and had an impact on all those we knew in many different ways made their life count for something.
My wife's parents were the very same way devoted to helping others.
Though it is in my heart to help people, it is rarely seen in the rest of the family, to people out side the family .
I have plenty to do now days even being retired ,the property is still full of work to do , and I have so many projects I need another lifetime to build them all.
I have animals to care for every day and work that must be done but along with that I keep my ears open in the event a neighbor needs a hand ,or from time to time go to town and enjoy some green tea at starbucks and meet people there .
Looking back I have had volumes of adventures and failures and successes as well.
Like Edison, some times it takes a thousand failures to come to a success.
Wise risk taking is not sensational as Evil Knievel , but with patience it does pay off eventually.
Even personal private successes are gratifying .
Ever built a "ram pump" a water pump that needs no external power ?
Though I didn't need one at the moment ,I wanted to learn how to make one, so I did,, and it works .
Turns out later I met, a friend that has a situation where this type of pump is exactly what he needs, and I was able to confirm it for him.
How cool is that ?
If you have a legacy of living life selfishly, the only memories others will have for you, is being glad your gone.
Your choice.
Why is it that your mother "doesn't qualify for any help"? Do you have siblings? Does Medicaid help with your situation? My sister lived in a nursing home for 10 years and between her SSI and Medicaid, we had no expenses.
She's from the woman stay at home, don't get an education generation, my dad died when she was in her 40's and she went to work. She made enough to support herself without help from the government but kept working to increase her SS and pension. Turns out someone starting out in the work force in their 40's without an education can make too much to get help from the government. She is over by $5.82 a month and she fell of the cliff (no help). So now instead of living our dream we must subsidize her (medical bills and extra's needed) and be there to help her all the time. A lot of times I'm very angry about it but happy she is still with us. It's too late for us, the only way out is.... I hope anyone going into their elderly years is reading this and takes steps to avoid doing this to their kids. Yes I do feel like my life is passing me by because of it.
I don't. We can't go back and change anything from the past anyway, and IMO dwelling on it doesn't do our psyches any good. I figure we have only the present and can only go forward, and I'd rather spend the energy making the best I can of my remaining days.
So there may have been things we could have done better, done differently, or decided to do instead of what we did. I figure that for the most part we did the best we knew how at the time, maybe we would have done differently if we knew what we know now, or had our current mindsets. But it doesn't seem that human nature works that way.
Just some thoughts from somebody feeling my own human frailty today.
The original post reminds me of the theme to my yearbook in my senior year of high school...
Time
By Pink Floyd
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.
So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.
Apparently even in 1977 some people felt they missed the starting gun.
For me, no, I never feel that life passed me by. I live it everyday, and even now that there is more behind me than ahead, I live in the moment and rarely waste time looking back except with a smile thinking of the good times I had.
Your schedule and timing was about mine also back in the 70's. I had 40 years of good working to make careers and save money.
Nothing wrong with what you did. You've got many good years to make something happen.
Don't wait on others, go create your future and career.
Don't look back and reflect on those years now. Move forward and onward you are still young and much can and will happen. You still have good and bad to occur and now you know more on how to steer your ship. Personally my reflection on life and accomplishments is focused on now and my retirement years. Since they are good, my feeling I must have done things right. Strive for that point in your life when you are ready to kick back and hopefully enjoy the fruits of your life efforts. Which I might add most of is still to occur.
To a degree, I took the easy path. After many years of regretting this and seeing myself as a looser, I came to the realization, not only that I made this decision numerous times, quite consciously, but also that, all in all, it had paid off given my objective. That was long before I retired. What i am working with now is the question of should I try to change things in my retirement, just for the sake of a little challenge? Or should I continue to be outstanding at doing nothing and still getting paid well as I did this?
Same here, it was the last recession that did it in for me. But I'm still getting to see the US a little at a time, and someday I'm going to be a homesteader to try to be as self sufficient as possible. We already have some land, we're just waiting for it to be paid off enough to farm/build on. I can't wait!
Any career dreams I had were deferred for years after the disaster.
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