That's always easy to understand, once you have a history in your life. A past to gaze back into. The young live like there is no rearview mirror in their vehicle. You get a job, get up every day and go to work until there is no job. Only then do the majority think of what's next. I have found that the same goes for pretty much everything in a person's life. Not only work, but kids, marriage, lifestyle and planning for your retirement, or if you should get sick. It's all usually in the rearview before you realize that you have run over that "speed bump" in your life.
Family
So as fate and lawyers have decreed, Marriage and kids are a package bump in the highway of life. When you mess up your relationship with a spouse and lose that battle, the kids go along for the ride. I have three of these photos in my rearview mirror file. Each one represents an entire life, lifestyle, job and each one carries it's own loss, or gain in my lifestyle.
It's all good. It was best for both of you. The kids will be better off. You can be happier, now. I was bored. We weren't getting along. I lost interest. She changed. He changed.... blah blah blah
It's all B.S. The truth is, there are still people my age, YOUR age that has been married to the same person for years, decades, their entire life. It is a lie, believing you can't get through whatever it is you think is ending your marriage. I have been told, I have forgiven you, but I cannot forget. You will never share my bed with me ever again. Men and women who cheat on their spouse purely have no will to be satisfied. My second wife did everything in her power and imagination to keep me in our marriage. For a brief moment, I tried turning around from my path to disaster, then folded and ran. I chose not to listen to my heart, my better judgment, my Little Jesus inside my head. I blew it.
Don't look at me, I don't have the answer to fixing your marriage if I did I wouldn't have three ex-wives and one mistress who tried to kill me. Ruined relationships led me to joblessness, poor health, homelessness, and seven years of my life wandering around the world just finding the person who I really should be. You really cannot fix "stupid" My advice: LOVE your spouse like they were the only person in the world. If you want to play, do it within your budget, and make it an inanimate object. And love your spouse MORE than your toy, job or co-worker. Keep it in your pants.
Vehicles
Some people are in a position where they can easily choose to collect any vehicle they like. Nice, for them. Most of us, however, look back and think; If I could have kept... SO.
Think about it. In MY rearview, there are numerous vehicles I should never have let go. Not for any reason, aside from only looking at what was immediately in front of me. Not what was ahead, but what was current. Again, you cannot fix stupid. Realistically, how much money have you thrown at a beater you could "afford" only to have gone and purchased another merely due to the fact that you are finally tired of fixing the old one? One after the other, money burned with nothing gained. Drive your future. Buy what lights fire to your soul. Don't let go of it, honestly, there is someplace you can store a prize that no longer suits your transportation needs. Or your interest moves on to something else. Pack the old one away for later. Tarp it and hide it somewhere dark. Buying a car is an investment. It should be one you won't throw away forever lost. It doesn't take that much room, nor too much effort to plan for when you don't work anymore and would love to still have something to get into and drive that lights your fire. For God's sake, man, look in that junk drawer - it's full of stuff you can't throw away. Why is your garage empty??
In my mirror...
What I drive NOW!
No I did not hit the lotto. No I don't make a ton of money. I do not have my own home, or apartment. I am homeless. I am handicapped. I get along day to day in severe pain and with disabilities that control my lifestyle. I don't like it, but it is not fixable. I still have to work to live, so I do it in spite of the pain.
I live in other people's homes and take care of them in return for a little income and a room to sleep in. I can't afford the affordable care act health insurance, so I don't get medical care. I don't use credit cards and save what money I earn. It allows me to finally be able to spend money on my kids, and to drive around what I like. Everything I own will fit into my bug, or the trailer it tows. My older children live close, so I get to spend time with them. My youngest daughter, I walked away from her and her mom, I have not seen since 2008. I miss her every day of my life. I just bought her birthday gifts for the first time since 2008. I think she liked them. We tweet and I watch her social feeds to keep up.
Don't end up looking at YOUR life in the Rear View.....
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