to go on my own terms. Fuck a hospital bed.

I could, at this moment, be sitting in a mansion, ordering the servants around, eating chocolate croissants and drinking tea out of a golden chalice. Instead, I'm pondering the choice between toast made with rye or whole wheat, and wondering if there is enough margarine left in the tub to spread on either, because neither beloved husband nor self had the brains to pick up a new tub of "I can honestly believe this crap isn't butter" at the store yesterday.

Where was I?

Oh yes... in my mansion, licking the warm Belgian chocolate off my fingertips...

....but didn't stop. I have done pretty much what I wanted to through my 58 yrs. Sure, I wish I had the resources to do anything I had wanted to do, but overall, I have had a very pleasing life. I managed to retire early, though not on the terms I would have liked.
I lived a blue-collar existence, raised two children, married to two wonderful women.

I have often said I could die today with a smile on my face because I have had a pretty decent life...few regrets. I wish everyone could have at least the life I have had. I had great loving parents and family. I know this is a big asset many did not have the opportunity to enjoy, and that is tragic.

I chose not to chase the dollar, despite being gifted with above-average intelligence. Instead, I chose to spend more time with my family, more time in nature, and less time working to make someone else rich. I always believed if you did the right thing, karma would catch up with you....and it did!

That's not to say I haven't had hard times. I survived three lay-offs, two in the eighties and one in the nineties. I lost my soul mate last year to cancer.....something I am still trying to overcome. But the 18 yrs we had together were truly a blessing.

I do have one regret......I wish I had grandkids to spoil. None yet, but my oldest daughter informed me she is pregnant and due the first of September! God willing, I may yet see that wish fulfilled!

I have lived the "American Dream", or at least my version of it. There were no new cars, no fancy vacations to Europe, no cruises, but those were choices. I still live in the town I was born in and have friends I've known for over fifty years! I am happy.....and that's what counts the most! I will die with that smile intact!

You can live in "Hooterville" (a symbol of small town America) all your life and still enjoy it. I am living proof. If wealth were measured in smiles and laughs one had in life, I'd be one of the bazillionaires.

I have had the courage to be true to myself and lived the life I wanted to live - even at the expense of being kicked out of my family. I enjoy working hard because all the good things in my life have stemmed from that. I have no qualms about expressing my feelings because life is too short to tolerate things that bother me. I did try to stay in touch with my old friends, but they did not like what I had become. Screw them. I made new friends. And I am happy.

Yep. No regrets whatsoever.

enough to try and live my life on my own terms, even though there wasn't much money involved in living this kind of life. I spent 25 years chasing music dreams and the latter part of my life I've lived barely making ends meet, but at least I've been doing things I didn't mind doing. Most of my friends that are still alive are still my friends and I still don't have a problem making new friends. I've always been outspoken and at 61 now, I don't expect that to change.

My few regrets DO involve choices I've made though. Personal incorrect choices that looked good at the time, but resulted in negative outcomes. My one saving grace is that I think I learned from those choices, so that when I faced a similar choice at a later date, I chose correctly.

And as a poster above stated, I also realize I've been VERY lucky in the type of family and background I was born into. Not a lot of money, but a lot of love and support. Most things I wouldn't change and the things I would change would not be lifestyle altering. I'm pretty sure I'm going to die with few regrets.