240428 I Thought

Things in my life never worked out the way I thought they would.

I was 16 and working in a garage fixing flat tires and doing brake work. I thought I would do that for the rest of my life, but it didn’t happen.

I thought when I enlisted in the navy I would do my 20 years and retire, but it didn’t happen. Being away 9 months a year on an aircraft carrier was not good for family life.

I thought we would live in California for the rest of our lives, but it didn’t happen.

I thought when we bought the farm we would live there the rest of our lives, but it didn’t happen. We got too old to keep up with everything. We moved to town to be closer to doctors and hospitals. It worked out at first, had we still been on the farm Joyce would have died with her brain aneurysm before I could get her to the hospital. As it was, we barely made it to the hospital before she went unconscious and nearly died in the emergency room.

I thought when I went to work at Litton I would work there until I was 70 and then retire, but it didn’t happen. Litton closed and I was out of work.

I thought I would be writing best selling novels, but it didn’t happen.

I thought Joyce and I would live together longer than we did. I thought she would outlive me, but it didn’t happen.

I planned for everything in my life, but it turns out: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Quote from Robert Burns. All of my plans have gone awry.

I’ve had what I would call a good life, just not the life I planned. Here I am in a circumstance I never dreamt would happen. I’m thankful for you friends and readers. May the Lord bless and keep you happy and well.