Good fortune

While sitting out on the patio, in the warm sun no less, yesterday, I was profoundly struck by the good fortune my bride and I have enjoyed.  In matters large and small, momentous and inconsequential, long-term and fleeting, we've had and continue to enjoy that which life in our country offers.

The ultimate bit of good fortune was our meeting in high school.  Her family had recently relocated to Oregon from Texas, and she began her senior year in high school where I was attending.  One Friday in January, my best buddy suggested we go to the high school basketball game.  As we walked into the gym, he spotted "his girl."  Pointing to her girlfriend, he turned to me and said, "You get the other one."  45 years later, 43 of which we've been married, my good fortune remains at my side.  If I stopped here, the post about good fortune could be completed, because far too many people don't view marriage as the life time commitment it is meant to be.

But I'll continue.

Sitting in the warm afternoon, chatting with my bride and our son, my mind reflected back on all the positives our life has presented.  Every bit of the good fortune was the result of our efforts.  No one gave us anything.  Whatever material comfort we enjoy was earned through our hard labors. Trust that we are by no means wealthy, but neither are we indigent.  We invested wisely in our children, paying the vast majority of the costs associated with their undergraduate education.  Our employment provided the opportunity to work hard, save, and enjoy a nice lifestyle.  Again, all of this was possible because of our hard work.  No one provided anything that we didn't earn. I worked my way through college, working a full-time job and carrying a full load of classes.  During the middle of our junior year, we married, so my pay not only covered my college education, but also permitted us to establish our home together.  Upon graduation, I depart university with zero school debt.  Again, this was achieved by hard work.

Over the next forty plus years, there were times my bride wasn't in the commercial workplace, but was a stay at home mother, running the household and raising the kids.  Another bit of good fortune for me.  As an active duty Marine, I worked long hours in a demanding profession.  Additionally, there were weeks, months, and years spent away from my family.  Throughout, our two children benefitted from the rock solid child raising of their mother.  So the continuing good fortune is that our off spring are phenomenal adults, working hard to earn their way through this world, choosing their own paths and making their own good fortune.  This results from the lessons learned from their mother more than me.

Now, as parents and grandparents, the good fortune earned from a lifetime of hard work generates a warm smile.  We have security earned by our own sweat.  We have a family that gives love.  We have friends who are sources of smiles.  We are very, very fortunate.

Thankfully, we are also intelligent.  Therefore we don't accept what all too many politicians, academics, and members of the media are pushing.  The government isn't responsible for our good fortune.  We are not responsible for those too lazy to work hard for themselves.  We are not responsible for "sharing" our good fortune.  The opportunities were there for people to succeed.  Far too many believed what politicians, academics, and members of the media were selling - that the government "owed" good fortune; that the "rich" had to be punished to provide their "fair share."

Those who believe what the politicians, academics, and members of the media are selling are not  able to sit on their patio, with family members, and recognize their good fortune.