What I Did & Didn’t Get

Several months ago my oldest granddaughter told me about Reddit and encouraged me to look into it.

I’ve heard of Reddit but didn’t know what it was. However, several years ago we were on the island of Zakynthos in Greece and were having trouble with the wash machine in the house we rented. All of the settings were in Greek.

My husband had been texting with his very resourceful son and mentioned our washer problem. His son asked him to take a picture of the settings and text it back to him. A short time later my husband received a text message with all the words in English.

When asked how he did that, his son said he put the picture out on Reddit and asked for a translation.

This Reddit must be the greatest thing since sliced bread!

Back to where I started. As soon as I had a minute, I looked into Reddit…what it was, how it’s used, etc. I downloaded the app.

I started out by choosing the ‘categories’ I was interested in. Others are thrown in the mix but for the most part I get to read about things that interest me. What I’m not interested in, but keep getting inundated with is, ‘What should I name my cat or dog’? First of all, I don’t give a rats a$$, and most surprising to me, is the astronomical number of posts per day asking for help in naming their pet. Seriously?

Anyhoo…one of the categories (or subs as they appear to be known as) is about women over 60. I happen to fall into that category.

Women will tell a short story about something they’re struggling with and ask for opinions or suggestions.

Today a woman asked the readers about what we did or didn’t get in our life…something along those lines.

That got me to thinking. We start out as kids, go thru our teens, adulthood with spouses, children, careers, highs and lows, good times and bad, and pretty soon we’ve morphed into senior citizens. I personally never stopped long enough to ponder about what I did or didn’t get out of life. I was dealt a hand and played it to the best of my ability.

So now someone is asking me about what I did or didn’t get out of life.

What I DIDN’T get: the wedding of my dreams, the house of my dreams, a good singing voice, a skinny body (my sister inherited that), sympathy and empathy are not in my DNA, a green thumb, a filter for my mouth, or the patience of a saint.

What I DID get: two wonderful sons, a great husband (took a couple of try’s), four amazing grandchildren, frequent international travel, a cute house, the gift of baking and cooking (I self-published my own cookbook last year), a set of balls, and after a lifetime of insecurities about various things, I have found confidence.

I’ve eliminated some people from my life that were bringing me down, I’ve learned to say no (It’s all in the approach. I now say, “Thank you for asking…but no”), I’ve given up fighting for everything I’ve wanted but never got…so I found peace and contentment in what I have. I’ve played all my cards.

To my surprise, I’m still alive. I took many chances in my life and am surprised I wasn’t the next days headlines. Nothing illegal…just some very dumb decisions. You know…the guy who says, “Here, hold my beer and watch this.” Usually doesn’t turn out very well.

So here’s my suggestion…if you’re under forty and have a dream, try to make it happen. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and will help you achieve that dream. Travel if you have the means and opportunity. There’s a beautiful world out there. If you’re in your twenties, sock as much money away for retirement as you can. If you’re over sixty, quit fighting for everything you think you deserve and finish playing the cards you were dealt! I have found a lot of peace by just accepting who I am and where I am at this point in my life.