I Like the Hard Life!

 

The last few years of the American populist movement and the great reveal provided by the threat posed to the established order by our last President have given me a new perspective on the life I have experienced and the days I have left.

Some parts of my early life, including the years of my marriage with my wife rearing our three children, were hard. But the rewards associated with successful achievement of goals were spectacular.

Thursday, my wife and I spent the day at Park City at the invitation of my daughter’s family, her husband, their four children, their two sons-in-law, and two great-grand-children. We didn’t do any snowboarding or indoor swimming but they all did. What a wonderful experience. My other two children were together with family in Arizona with my other three grandchildren, so we stayed in touch throughout the day.

I was the first member of my family generation to get a college degree. My parents and siblings got high school diplomas and my grandparents finished some elementary school levels. Three of the four of my grandchildren in their twenties now have their college degrees and I’m betting on the rest. None of these college graduates had any loans to repay at the conclusion of their studies and I don’t anticipate any in the future. This is the way I like it. These children may not have paid for all their education themselves but they understand how it was done.

None of these children or grandchildren is perfect, but we have gotten this far without any of their lives being hijacked by unsavory careers or addictions, so we feel good about our families, the purpose, and the outcomes. My wife and I have spent the last couple of decades helping in every way we could. Until recently, I had pretty pleasant thoughts about where we all were and where we would leave our progeny upon our departure, so I was on the equivalent of cruise control. But during the last decade, the overall conditions of the American cultural and political environment underwent drastic changes that alter the future prospects.

So I’m thinking we are back in hard times, and I am liking it better than being on cruise control.

Whadda you think?

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There are 9 comments.

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  1. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    But I think a lot of younger Americans are not going to like how hard it can become if it plays out in the pattern set in motion by the current establishment.

    • #1
  2. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    As I thought a little more about how I expressed myself in the OP, I had some thoughts about President Biden and his family and the contrast between how he and his family have gotten to their current place and how I and my family have gotten to where we are. I prefer my approach. 

    And no wonder he has abandoned his former religious principles related to family and childbirth since his life has been filled with destruction. It does not set well with me to see our leadership in the hands of destructive people.

    • #2
  3. John H. Member
    John H.
    @JohnH

    I am trying to be exhilarated by the times we are in. 

    • #3
  4. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    John H. (View Comment):

    I am trying to be exhilarated by the times we are in.

    I don’t know if I’m exhilarated but it surely has my attention and I do feel a new sense of personal utility. I think a sense of missing personal utility is what’s sad as one gets old. Why do you think the old politicians hang on forever as well as those billionaires who, with their money, never have to feel useless.

    • #4
  5. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    What a long, strange trip it’s been. 

     

    • #5
  6. Douglas Pratt Coolidge
    Douglas Pratt
    @DouglasPratt

    Times are hard, but families are worth fighting for. Your post brings that home. Thanks!

    • #6
  7. E. Kent Golding Moderator
    E. Kent Golding
    @EKentGolding

    Bob Thompson (View Comment):

    As I thought a little more about how I expressed myself in the OP, I had some thoughts about President Biden and his family and the contrast between how he and his family have gotten to their current place and how I and my family have gotten to where we are. I prefer my approach.

    And no wonder he has abandoned his former religious principles related to family and childbirth since his life has been filled with destruction. It does not set well with me to see our leadership in the hands of destructive people.

    I suspect Biden and his family are eternally damned.    A better Christian would wish better for him.   Me,   I am grateful that God has mercy on those who chose his mercy, and justice for those who chose his justice.

    • #7
  8. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    I struggle with being profoundly sad for my kids (20 and 24), while at the same time thinking God knew what he was doing when he let them suffer so much during their teen years (serious medical conditions). My kids, unlike many their age, have known hardship and getting through it.

    But, I’m still sad that it appears they’re not going to get a break due to the immanent destruction and collapse of our civilization. I’m counting on God’s mercy for those who suffer through no fault of their own. 

    And, yes, I suspect the Bidens are going to hell without some serious public repentance and turning away from sin. I can pray for their conversion, but it doesn’t come naturally. I have to remind myself that God wants them in heaven too. 

    • #8
  9. Ansonia Member
    Ansonia
    @Ansonia

    Unless, maybe,  you’re starving or watching loved ones starve, I think a materially harder life with people you love and trust is a thousand or million times better, more joyful, than an easy life without them.

    • #9
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