So, we’re getting older

It’s our birthday on Friday. We’re being spoilt that day. We’re going for McDonalds breakfast with our friends, and out to dinner in our fave restaurant in the evening with mum, dad, Paul and the kids. It’s going to be exhausting, but in a good way!

It’s a milestone birthday this year, and that makes ua think of all the things we haven’t done with our life, and all the things we wish we could do. We see friends from school, who weren’t as bright as us, and they’ve got great jobs and lots of money and go away on these amazing holidays all the time. And then there’s us, who live on benefits, are disabled, crippled, and haven’t had a holiday in 20 years. It’s depressing at times. There are so many things we used to be able to do. We’ve been a pre-school teaching assistant, a gold dealer, a pawnbroker, a shop manager,  a motorbike mechanic, run our own milk delivery round, and when we had to stop working, we were a double glazing company appointments and personnel manager. So much potential for a rich and varied life, and it’s all gone.

It hurts to feel your life is passing you by, and big birthdays like this one just rub salt in the wounds.

Still, we’re alive, and that counts for something! We have a wonderful fiancé, gorgeous kids, a family we’ve built and wouldn’t change for the world. And we might not have had all of that if we’d been healthy and circumstances had been different. We’d have been different. So I guess life has compensated us for all the things we’ve lost, by giving us what we have now. And we should try and take some measure of comfort in that.

We’ve also got a safe, stable and loving world inside, where people are generally happy and content. Sure we have our problems, but overall, we’re good. And that’s something else to cherish.

So, it’s our birthday on Friday. And we’ll celebrate! And eat! And we’ll enjoy it as best we can!

Nick