Wednesday, October 09, 2013

A Comfortable Life

My wife and I still have the loaner car from yesterday.  After getting into the car this morning my wife said, “Darn, this car doesn’t have heated seats”!  My first thought was “We are so spoiled”!  I thought about this all the way to work.  Am I spoiled because I have a good life?  Should I feel guilty that I have a good life?  My wife and I have been married almost 40 years and during that time we have consistently worked and had good jobs.  We have successfully raised two boys into good men.  We struggled in our younger days and made a lot of mistakes.  Fortunately we learned from our mistakes and kept trying.  We are now both in our sixties and life is not as much of a struggle as it used to be, at least on a financial and material level.  Now we struggle more on a physical level.  Some days it is tough to get out of bed and walk down the stairs.  Occasionally we don’t remember what we did, what we were supposed to do, where we are, or why we walked into another room..  There are many things in life that we are totally over.  Any of you who are older know what I am talking about.  Are we spoiled?  Yes, to some degree we are spoiled.  However, I don’t apologize because we have earned our comfort by getting out of bed five days a week, going to work, and doing it for many, many years.  We live within our means and no longer make really stupid decisions.  We both get everything we want within reason.  This is made easier because neither of us wants much more than we already have.  I’m basically a simple man.  Give me music, books, and good coffee and I am happy.  My wife is a little more complex.  However, more closet space usually meets her needs.  The moral of this story is that if you want to be spoiled in your old age and live a good life, get up and go to work every day.  I say this with all due respect to the unemployed and those whose struggles are not of their own making.  In all fairness, sometimes it is not enough just to work hard.  My wife and I have also been very lucky and blessed with abundance.    
 

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