This is life, the one you get.  Remember that great old quote by John Lennon?  Ain’t this the truth?

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

I wonder how many of us out there in the blog world thought we would end up at this point in our lives?  I thought I’d graduate college, get a good job, own a beautiful yet smaller home, and have some money to travel and buy the occasional designer purse.  Now, I’m sick with a headache or something else nearly half the week, I’ve got no uterus, several medical conditions caused by some weird genetic disease, I’m losing my job due to discrimination, and in the past five weeks I’ve only been able to apply for one job.  One.  I knew a very hard life once, and I thought I could get away from that type of hard living as an adult.  Sigh.  Life really is what happens when you are busy making other plans.  Who would have thought that me, the girl who worked two jobs for twenty years to be able to afford an education to get ahead would be in a worse position that she was when she was 18?  Well, maybe just about all of us Michiganders realize this, but how about the rest of the world?  Life is hard, as it always has been, but I’ve been wondering lately, is it possible that life is even getting harder?  Kids have more challenges, parents have to work more, the internet brings everything to our fingertips, and the cost of living is outrageous.  I didn’t even have a bike until I was in college, but every kid today has to have everything.  You parents know what I mean. 

Last week, with the aid of my $25 gift certificate to Outback that I earned by reading emails I had what may have been my last steak dinner for a long time.  It was so beautiful that I had to take a picture of it.  Of course, I could only eat half because I got dizzy and we had to take our desert to go.  But, at least I had this steak and the appreciation of being able to have it was so wonderful.

I’m trying not to get all boo hooey here, just taking time to reflect wow, this is really happening?  I’ve been able to ignore the fact that my body desperately needs the collage it lacks, and ignore all the horrible things that can happen to me in the future, like getting an aneurysm, having open heart surgery or having a heart attack, having teeth falling out, more spine problems, going blind like my father or having to get hearing aids like my mother.  Oh, yeah, my lungs could also burst.  So, now that my two day headache is over, and my surgical pain is much better, I’ve been doing little things; like visiting my in-laws, reading books, watching movies (Saw Harry Potter last week, and watched a video of the Haunting in Connecticut last night) and meeting the boyfriend of my stepdaughter.  Right now I’ve got ten year old boys playing Pokemon and video games in my living room.

I have a million thoughts in my head, like, can we really afford $5,900 for a new furnace and air conditioner?  No, not really.  But, we can’t afford to live in a home with a 40 year old furnace that spews crap into our lungs and makes me cough and get headaches, either.  Should we take out the carpet just because I’m allergic and the carpet is old and sorta fugly, or is it better to save money?  Will The Time Travelers Wifebe a good or bad adaptation of the novel I so loved?  I kind of hate Eric Bana after the awful Hulk, but will he redeem himself in this movie for me?  Should I go to a genetic specialist so I can try and help myself, or is it better just to ignore everything like I’ve been doing the past few months?  Most importantly, who will Bradley Cooper pick, Jennifer Aniston or Renee Zellweger?  

 

Being the 80s fan I am, I’ve been thinking about an old show of mine, One Day at a Time. 

It is probably on my mind because I see or hear about Valerie Bertinelli on tv like almost every night.  (And she looks fantastic!)  I always loved and watched this show, as I appreciated how hard their mom worked to raise and provide for them, and how life was a struggle every day of their lives, like mine was, and like real life was for most people.  Which is still true today, as we all work hard to struggle with making it.  Give me One Day at a Time reruns over any new reality show.  Go ahead, sing along, I’ve provided you with the music and lyrics below that still ring true today.  Let us keep on keep moving on people.  Life, no matter what we plan, or happens, still moves on whether we are ready for it or not.       

This is it. This is it.
This is life, the one you get
So go and have a ball.

This is it. This is it
Straight ahead and rest assured
You can’t be sure at all.

So while you’re here enjoy the view
Keep on doing what you do
So hold on tight we’ll muddle through
One day at a time, One day at a time.

So up on your feet. Up on your feet
Somewhere there’s music playing.
Don’t you worry none
We’ll just take it like it comes.

One day at a time, one day at a time.
One day at a time, one day at a time.
One day at a time, one day at a time.
One day at a time, one day at a time.

by John and Nancy Barry