Has anyone re invented their life?

I have moved on through my life, making changes as I thought necessary. Nothing stays the same, life is a series of chapters you move through them.

If I didn't like the job I was in, I changed it. If I didn't like the person I was with I found new people. If I wanted to move house, I moved. If I was stuck in a dead end street I stopped and found a different way. Being able to change is the key. Being blinkered will hold you back.

When I left school my only ambition was that I earn my own living, so I worked for 45 years. If I was in a job I didn't like I found another job. Lorry driving suited me right down to the ground. I changed jobs, drove different trucks, delivered different loads, learnt how to operate new equipment, and went all over the country and abroad. It was the variety which kept me driving, like having a hobby and getting paid for it.

I am now retired from that and have moved on. I took up creating art and now I call myself a textile artist. I have my own exhibition in a week or so, looking forward to a new experience.

ilona

Kayalana99 wrote: »

I know there is this saying you shouldn't change who you are, but I see it as growing into someone you can be.

Must admit I've never heard that saying without an addition phrase such as "just to please others".

Most people develop and grow as they grow through life - none of us are fixed by our childhoods and families unless that's the choice we make.

I find I travel through different new chapters of my life, and I love it.

From being a very bad student, parties all night, wrong sort of parties etc to home owner, jobs, good jobs, career changes, marriage, and so on.

I'm in a new chapter now since March 2018 and am loving it.

And no doubt in (x) number of years time will move on to the next one and so on.

My life changed for me when I had a disabled child. I expected to go through life as it was - married, with children, a mortgage, dog, and save for a holiday once a year. Instead, my son was born with multiple disabilities and needed his first four operations at nine hours old. Just prior to that, he was given four hours to live.


Giving up work was one of the hardest things I ever did. I had no option though, as there was no suitable childcare and my dad had started to show signs of dementia. Instead, I took up voluntary work with Girlguiding, when my daugher was a Brownie, as it fitted in with my family life. My then husband was able to look after our children whilst I had an evening out of the house.


Life changed again when my husband left to start a new family elsewhere. By this time, my dad had passed away, and my mum looked after the kids when I went to Brownies. On the odd occasion that she couldn't, they came with me.


Now, my baby is twenty years old, still severely disabled, and cannot be left alone. I'm still a Brown Owl, and my daughter is also an Owl. Life has thrown a number of curveballs, but on the whole, I can honestly say that most clouds have silver linings. Plans are in place for the future, as I'm aware that I won't live forever and my son will still need care when I'm too old to care for him myself (and when I die). My mortgage is almost paid off. Mum needs some care herself these days, and my other son has some problems that we cope with as a family. I also pop into a neighbour five mornings a week.


I may not have paid work, but instead I have been heavily involved in my local community and in the disabled community, raising funds and awareness. I've attended Nativity plays, assemblies, coffee mornings, school fayres, etc, which may not always have been possible had I been at work. I've spent hours in various hospitals and clinics, but it's been time with my children, and I'm lucky to be able to do this. Time spent overnight in hospital with my son has been a respite for my other two children - my son has had significant overnight needs, sometimes meaning that the household has been wakened by his contant coughing and choking (both a result of his medical conditions). I've fitted in some part time education over the years, supported (by phone) others whose children were also born with rare conditions and/or Down's Syndrome. I've learned sign language, researched disability and associated topics, and have organised varios social events for families of disabled children.


I didn't think that I would cope, especially after my husband left. However, I have coped, and for the most part, my life is happy. It's stressful and tiring, but it could be a lot worse. I would have preferred my marriage to last, but it's no use regretting that it didn't. I miss having a partner, emotionally and physically, but I don't feel the need to find someone the way some people do. It it happens, great. If not, well, that's life!


My family and friends, and my Guiding family, have been so much support over the years. I probably wouldn't have got involved in Guiding if I had been working, but I would have missed out on so much.



Moneywise, I'm poor. Lifewise, I'm wealthy and happy. I don't waste time and energy on regretting how things have turned out. I just look for the positive aspects and enjoy life (most of the time!).

Some great stories. :T

ilona