Reflections on Life

At this stage of my life, I've come to realize that some of the dreams of my youth are not going to happen.

I'm not ever going to have hair like this ...

Or skin like this ...

Or stand 5'6" tall and look like this in a bikini ...

I'm not ever going to have nails like this ...

Or live in a house like this ...

Or drive a Ferrari ...

I'm never going to see the Himalayas ...

Or Africa ...

Or koala bears in Australia ...

And I know for a fact that I will never visit
here (not in this lifetime, anyway) ...

No, I will never experience any of these things ... but my life has been blessed with so much more.

I thank God for my parents, who are now 83 and 84, and still very active and healthy for their age. They live about an hour away from us and I talk to my mother every day, sometimes two or three times a day. We're blessed to be able to see them often, and they are very much a part of our lives and our granddaughter Avery's life.

Without a doubt, my greatest blessing in life is my husband. God was truly looking out for me that day many years ago when He arranged for us to be in the same place on the college campus at the same time.

We have a son and a daughter who are our pride and joy, and have been blessed with a precious granddaughter, Avery Grace, who just turned four last week.

Life is, indeed, good ... and as I contemplated the things I'll never experience, I realized how many wonderful things I have experienced in my lifetime.

I was going to list some of these things, like places I've been and things I've seen and done, but they all seem so trivial compared to what I consider the most beautiful and most memorable experience of my life: seeing the birth of our granddaughter. I wouldn't take anything for being there and seeing her sweet little face for the first time ... and seeing our daughter's radiant smile and our son-in-law's beaming face when they saw her for the first time. It's a wonder I didn't faint, I was so overcome with emotion and happiness, especially when I held her for the first time. I remember my first words to Avery were, "We're going to have so much fun together" ...

And Avery doesn't care if I have luxurious hair or perfect skin, or look good in a bikini, or live in a mansion and drive a Ferrari. I don't need these things to experience life to its fullest with my family. They love me just as I am ... and I thank the good Lord for them, and all the ways He has blessed my life.