70-Years-Old, Whether I Like It or Not!

Tomorrow will mark my 70th. birthday. I would rather not be 70; however, it beats the alternative. It seemed like an opportune time to contemplate my life to-date and determine if it was worth the effort.

Life is nothing more than a series of experiences. Some are wonderful and enjoyable. Others are terrible and sometimes terrifying. The majority are a series of mundane, barely noticeable experiences, soon forgotten.

I have had some wonderful, memorable experiences:
A 35 1/2 year marriage to a beautiful woman, wonderful mother and true friend - Fathering 5 children, none of whom ever disappointed and often have made me very proud - A successful 33-year management career which provided sufficient monetary compensation to allow me to begin a very comfortable retirement at the age of 53 - Being the grandfather to 4 fantastic grandchildren, whose parents allow me to spoil them to my heart's content - Reasonably good health, much to the bafflement of my doctor who constantly reminds me that I don't do many of the things I should be doing and do far too many things that I shouldn't at my age.

There have been a few bad experiences which I would rather not have experienced, but realize are a necessary part of life. Until one has experienced pain and disappointment, one cannot truly appreciate pleasure and satisfaction.
7 boyhood friends and I enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and went off to war. Only 5 of us returned home - One of my children was killed in an accident - My wife died of cancer at the age of 56. There were other experiences which aggravated and made me angry at times, but not serious enough to contemplate or even bother remembering.

Looking back on all those life experiences, both good and bad, I ask myself - If given an opportunity to go back and do it all over again, would I? Damn right I would!