Absolutely, aside from a little heart trouble things are beautiful. I lost a very unhappy wife in '86 and she turned our 2 year old son over to me. I remarried a pediatric nurse RN-NP that loves kids and wants everybody around her to be happy. The most selfless saint I know. She took my son as her own and produced two daughters in short order. We acquired over 300 acres of land and live in the old board and batten house that my first wife abandoned. Everything is paid for and there is money left over to help folks with after stashing a little. We don't drive fancy vehicles but they are plenty good. I retired 11 years ago and keep a few cows and get by with a 42 year old 5600 Ford tractor and a few implements. The kids got good educations, a teacher, an RN, a lawyer so they can make it. We have friends and family and a good church group that's not too hard on me for rejecting Paul's alleged writings and our Baptist church goes lightly on condemning light alcohol use for the most part.
I know I've got limited time left but so does everybody so I can't complain. I am just very grateful for the good luck and good breaks I've had. And even though I'm trying to find forgiveness for my father giving me some brutal beatings and not explaining why he did one time give me some wonderful advice I took to heart. He told me "if you can keep from having money trouble you'll have a whole lot less other trouble". I have since come to conclude he had PTSD from being on USN ships from the beginning of the Jap war and further being a officer aboard a battleship at Surigao Strait where the Jap fleet was sunk. I found out from a U.S. Marine relative aboard the Denver that the swimming 1000s of Jap sailors were strafed with machine gun fire until none were left. He also divorced his unfaithful wife after the war and married my mother 15 years younger than him. Probably didn't think that one through. Old man and 4 young kids could be taxing on the nerves. He died in 1978 a very unhappy man dealing with my suddenly assertive mother and my at the time 16 year old sister really born into his old age.
So, absolutely I'm happy, most people have it much worse.
