Life is Just One Big Classroom...

My personal belief is, that we are placed here...wherever "here" is ...to learn a lesson or two.  I don't believe that bad things are sent to test us...however, I believe that we are tested on how we deal with life's curve balls.  I believe that every encounter with joy and sorrow hides a lesson of some sort.

I have been fortunate to reach the autumn of my life.  For me, it is a time of reflection.  I think back over the years, and ask myself repeatedly, "Did I handle that right?"  "What could I have done better?"  What lesson was hidden in fabric of that encounter...disaster...relationship?

I believe that many times I did the best I could with the knowledge that I had.  I believe that I am older now, and that I know better, and now do better.  My friend has often said, "Old heads are not borne on young bodies."  I thought of that statement many times when raising three children.  I think of it now, as I reflect on the paths I have chosen, and the way I have handled relationships.

We have struggled over the past year carrying two mortgages.  Would I make the choice that I did last summer to purchase this home in the quick manner that I did,  if faced with the same decision?  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  What have I learned?  I have learned the value of a buck.  I have learned patience.  I have learned to be humble.  I have also learned that if you have enough to get by, that there is always something to share.

There is another side to this coin, however.  At times I ask myself if was foolish to want more.  Perhaps I should have been happy with what I had..which is a lot more than others have.  I certainly was comfortable, surrounded by my accumulations.  That same question is what motivated me to look at a smaller home though.  Living in a 2500 square foot home at this point in my life was comparable to driving a school bus, without passengers,  to work every day.

I think that what I wanted was not more...but less.

So...  I guess I will always mull over those questions..."Did I do it right?  Did I get it right?  What could I have done differently?  Where and what was the lesson?"