All things for a reason

i'm typically a person who thinks that most, if not all, things happen in my life for a reason.  Good or bad, happy or tragic, the situations and the way i choose to handle them all continue to mold me into the woman i want to be.  Sometimes i come through such situations with flying colours, sometimes i fail miserably. 

i want to be a woman who can look back at her life and have no regrets.  i once asked my grandfather (the Irish one) if he had any regrets in life.  He said that he only wished he had gone on with his education (meaning college).  Things were different then, though.  World War II...Marriage..children  = all came at a relatively early age for him.  He worked for the Navy Yard in Philadlephia for years and years and earned many certificates and other acknowledgements for engineering - without a degree.  He used to build things - after watching something on TV or seeing it in a magazine - all just figured out and plans drawn up.  He still does cross word puzzles every day.  He had subscrptions to National Geographic and read them cover to cover.  He has traveled.  He has a sense of humor.  He can cook.  Yet, he watched my grandmother die when she was in her mid 50's, he cared for her, he retired early so he could be home with her and to this day, he misses her greatly.  He's never remarried.  He lost a great deal of money in an investment that failed.  He broke his hip a couple of years ago.  He recently had that same hip operated on.  It hasn't been all roses - there have been thorns-- but hes' had a full and wonderful life - and his only regret is that he didn't have more education!  What a way to live - such a good example. 

So, i still hold that all things - whether good or bad - are done for a reason.  How i react to them shows the true woman.  No regrets.