Sorry for your troubles, Cuda. I hope your dad gets well.

As for me, I don’t know what to say except that my problems all fall under the umbrella of uncertainty for the future. Problems are a part of life, and they’ve usually been manageable, but lately they’re coming from every direction, and it’s getting hard to cope. I wish I could go into details, but there would be no turning back. I’m being intentionally vague because I’d rather not dump my shit on anyone. I get SLM’s view of not wanting to share stuff because it might make others feel bad. Just gotta try to stay positive and work it out.

I will say that I came upon a startling realization just in the last week or so. I’m going to be 42 in a couple of weeks, which means I’ll be 23 years away from retirement. I was thinking back to what I was doing 23 years ago, and boy was life different. I was getting started in my first year of (community) college, studying to become some form of accountant. Didn’t really have a solid plan for the future at that time, but always thought I’d be alright. It’s been a mixed bag ever since. I’m somewhat dreading the next 23 years, but I think as long as I believe I’ll be alright, I will be. I’ve probably kicked myself 23 times for not going back to high school for that one extra year, so I can upgrade my marks in order to get into university...but no sense in continuing to hang onto that. Can’t change the past. It is what it is.