The Paths not Taken

 I often wonder how my life would be if I had not taken the paths that I did. There was a time when I thought about majoring in art in college. One or two classes with the art prof convinced me that that was not going to be a great career choice. I don't know whether it was lack of talent, or just that the professor and I didn't have the same meeting of the minds. I loved making art then as much as I do now, but my kind of art didn't fit into the "frame" that the prof set forward. Now days, I am sure that artists in the making are given much more freedom than we were in the early 1960s.

Then there was the girl that I dated forever. All the way through HS and my first year of college. She was a real sweet gal and we enjoyed each other's sense of humor and had a great time together. I wonder how life would have gone if she and I had continued life together. Probably not too well. I think she advanced beyond me after she finished college and moved on to work for the federal government in DC. Scary though would be being related to a person working for the FBI. (She's now retired, married for at least the second time, happily I hope.)

I chose a path of Business education, finally graduating with a degree in Business Administration and Finance. After using that degree, sitting behind a desk for two years, I realized that that wasn't for me. I had to move about and be more active. Taking other jobs in industry seemed to be the most reasonable and profitable at the time. And there I was stuck for over 27 years! 

Personal decisions about myself were hard. I had to decide whether I wanted to marry or be alone. I had strong feelings both ways. I had met a nice lady and we hit it off. Finally, after dating for over 2 years, we married. I loved her. We made a life together, had children, raised them the best we knew how. I worked, she worked and we made an adequate living. We had such a good life. Suddenly, due to an untimely illness, that life as I knew it, came to an end.

Now, I am living alone. It has been a learning experience, not all bad, not all good. I learned a long while ago that there's a big difference in being alone and being lonely. Truly, I don't get lonely. I enjoy being alone. In fact, I prefer it, thus why I am not remarried nor do I intend to be married. Not that I am opposed to marriage, just not for me...anymore.

So, maybe the other path I could have taken would have led me to be a single, art teacher, living in a large studio with lots of light, alone, or with another partner. Who knows. Who, other than me really cares. No one!! But the paths I did take made me happy. It made me a father, a grandfather, and a friend to many. That's not bad at all!