Quoting Sally55:

The past few months have brought many life changing situations into my circle of family and friends.
My youngest sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. My youngest grand daughter was born with medical problems.
Luckily, the situations have been resolved to a degree. But, when these things happen to people that you love and care about, it does make one question what the meaning of life is about.
So, there has been much reflection on my part about what is real and what is not.
We all seem to reach for that brass ring on the carousel of life. When we are younger, the world seems to be our oyster. As we get older, we modify what our expectations are from our life experiences. Now, more than ever, the things that mattered to me when I was "young and stupid" don't carry the same weight to my now middle aged self.
What matters most to me at this age is finding happiness among my circle of family and friends- cherishing people for who they are, and the good times that we share together. I don't know if it's in the cards that there will ever be a male "significant other" in my life to share those good times with. My views and outlook on dating, marriage, etc. have also changed with time.
It's nice to be emotionally and financially independent, go where I want, when I want to. Still, it would be nice to have that feeling of being "special" for that one and only person. Does that still exist in this day and age, or am I being hopelessly altruistic and old fashioned? Time will tell..

The past few months have brought many life changing situations into my circle of family and friends.
My youngest sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. My youngest grand daughter was born with medical problems.
Luckily, the situations have been resolved to a degree. But, when these things happen to people that you love and care about, it does make one question what the meaning of life is about.
So, there has been much reflection on my part about what is real and what is not.
We all seem to reach for that brass ring on the carousel of life. When we are younger, the world seems to be our oyster. As we get older, we modify what our expectations are from our life experiences. Now, more than ever, the things that mattered to me when I was "young and stupid" don't carry the same weight to my now middle aged self.
What matters most to me at this age is finding happiness among my circle of family and friends- cherishing people for who they are, and the good times that we share together. I don't know if it's in the cards that there will ever be a male "significant other" in my life to share those good times with. My views and outlook on dating, marriage, etc. have also changed with time.
It's nice to be emotionally and financially independent, go where I want, when I want to. Still, it would be nice to have that feeling of being "special" for that one and only person. Does that still exist in this day and age, or am I being hopelessly altruistic and old fashioned? Time will tell..