In April of 2001, I lost a great job unexpectedly.
In May, I found out my wife was cheating on me, so I left her, giving her half our savings so she wouldn't be high and dry.
In June, I found another job but it was out of state. I rented a HUGE moving truck, hurt my back loading it alone, and ran over a parked car with it on the way out of the parking lot.
In July, I discovered that my wife was writing checks on my personal account, forging my name. I guess she found a checkbook I'd left behind somewhere. The bank wouldn't do anything about it, so I withdrew all my money but $1 and found a new bank to work with. She screwed me out of a few thousand bucks through that action. She also stopped paying on the van she was driving, unbeknownst to me, and years later, I was hit with a judgement for another several thousand dollars to pay that off. The bad checks she wrote after I pulled all my money out hit my credit score hard, and even prevented me from opening new bank accounts years later. It was a mess.
In August, my dear dad died.
In September, I watched in horror as the WTC towers collapsed on 9-11.
In October, I got really, REALLY sick, nearly died, and was diagnosed with an incurable cancer in stage 4 (the last stage). Unable to work, I lost another great job.
In November, my sisters came to Tennessee to get me and my belongings and transported me back to Michigan to help take care of me. I was so bloated, I couldn't even get my shoes on for the trip. My life from then on was one of doctors, hospital beds, chemotherapy, pain killers and needle stabs up and down my arms, so that I looked like a junky.
In December, even with the best insurance I could get at the company I'd worked for was kept up at great financial expense to me every month, the medical bills wiped me out because insurance companies pay 50% of this 40% of that, 63% of something else, etc. All told, I ended up owing over a million dollars AFTER the insurance company paid their share.
I was not expected to live to see Christmas that year. But I did anyway. And New Year's. And the next, and the next, and the next, and I'm still here.
All through 2001, and every single bonus day I've had since, I've felt like I had it great because I always knew and kept in mind that lots of other people had and have it worse off than me. There are little kids out there that are sick and dying and won't live to see love, long life, get a job they enjoy and make money to buy fun toys, develop hobbies to play with, travel and see new things, or any of the other pleasures of life that I've enjoyed, so how in the world could I possibly complain about my lot?
Just hang in there man. Life is full of ups and downs, but you'll get through it okay. It's all about perspective, so find the silver linings and stay positive. Just remember, no matter how bad things look, they could be MUCH worse, and they're not. We're the lucky ones - Some folks out there REALLY have it tough!!
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