I've been thinking a lot about my life lately. I'm the happiest I've been in a long time. My best long-time girlfriend, Linda, says I am the happiest she has seen me since my move to Charlotte in 1991. Would I be this happy if my life had gone in another direction? How can a wrong turn, 35 years ago, alter your journey and path in life...for the good! What if I had gone to college instead of getting married so young? What if I had married the 'right' person the first time? What if I had accepted that job transfer 21 years ago to move to Aiken SC instead of Charlotte? What if my mom was still alive. All of these 'what ifs', had but one of them come true, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this new AHOP blog post -- there would be no AHOP. My journey would have taken me elsewhere. I wouldn't have moved to Charlotte. I wouldn't have been victimized twice in 2008, and I wouldn't have the pleasure of cooking for these wonderful officers that I am so deeply fond of. I wouldn't have the joy and anticipation of seeing my friends again on Saturday. My wrong turn at 17 brought me here.
Seldom are people lucky enough to have a career 'do-over', but I came across a delightful (and inspiring) blog a few weeks ago about a woman who did just that. I was immediately drawn to it because of her occupation -- she is a police officer. Her story made me think about all of the 'what ifs' in my own life. Her blog is called "The Bad Luck Detective." Written by Suzie Ivy who, at age 45, was going through her own mid-life crisis when she submitted an application to her local police department to become a police officer – and she was ACCEPTED! In addition to being a police officer (now detective), Suzie is a writer and has published two books, based on her real-life experience in the academy and her occupation -- "Bad Luck Cadet" and "Bad Luck Officer."
Seldom are people lucky enough to have a career 'do-over', but I came across a delightful (and inspiring) blog a few weeks ago about a woman who did just that. I was immediately drawn to it because of her occupation -- she is a police officer. Her story made me think about all of the 'what ifs' in my own life. Her blog is called "The Bad Luck Detective." Written by Suzie Ivy who, at age 45, was going through her own mid-life crisis when she submitted an application to her local police department to become a police officer – and she was ACCEPTED! In addition to being a police officer (now detective), Suzie is a writer and has published two books, based on her real-life experience in the academy and her occupation -- "Bad Luck Cadet" and "Bad Luck Officer."
You can read 10 chapters of the "Bad Luck Cadet" on Suzie’s blog. She is my hero!
Not too many years ago, my job was eliminated. I worked three jobs for a while to stay afloat and (not) lose my house. I went two years without health insurance and just prayed real hard I wouldn't get sick. It was a really hard time for me, but here I am...happily working one job and for a great company, blogging my little heart out for my boys and girls in blue....and for you. My life has been perfectly imperfect.
My long-time friend also said, and she can't remember where she heard it, but she said..."We haven't had a perfect life, but we have had a perfectly good life." That says it all right there.
I boxed up all of my 'what ifs' tonight. I'm not questioning them anymore. I am where I am meant to be....and it's wonderful!
Oh but Annie, what if you hadn't left a comment on my blog and I never met you. I wouldn't be sitting here tonight reading what you wrote about me with tears streaming down my face. The tears are beyond happy ones, they are honored ones. What if life continues to get better with age and our laugh lines give us more character and tell the story of our journey to happiness. {hugs}
ReplyDeleteBeautiful stories ladies. Thanks for sharing and inspiring others to see the hand of God in their own lives. I think part of the 'secret' is to move forward in the adventure with other people, as both of you have done.
ReplyDeleteDet. Suzie ~ I am so happy you liked my post and what I wrote about you (I was a little worried.) I woke up this morning at 5:00 am to a bad sore throat, so I got up to take two 1000 mg Vitamin Cs and checked my cell phone for messages when I got back into bed. I could barely see the outline of a little yellow email envelope, so I fumbled around in the dark for my glasses to see who my message was from. Your nice comment made me smile and I forgot about my sore throat for just a minute.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your last blog post – it was so funny! I learned so many new and funny ‘buzz words’ that I had never heard before – I must live such a sheltered life. :)
I'm very sorry to hear about your sore throat. Get rest and I hope you have tomorrow off! I'm on light duty because of a problem with my eye. It makes work quite boring and makes me grumpy. I wrote my latest post to cheer myself up and I too learned a lot as I researched the "buzz words."
DeleteJohn in FL ~ thank you for reading my post and for your nice comment. I know the journey you are on will inspire others also.
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