Oy vey!

My father used to say that old age was not for the faint of heart. I think the same can be said of middle age! How ignorant we were before we got into our forties! Life just sort of rolled along, year after year, without any health issues to deal with. And then - bang! Between the two of us we'll have endured - and survived - five surgeries, heart disease, and cancer between the ages of 43 to 58. What a difference a few years makes!

We were fortunate really that we were so healthy when we were younger. Neither of us had as much as a cavity to worry about and that was a good thing since we had four kids and not the greatest health insurance. Just getting the kids their inoculations and antibiotics was a challenge, as the formidable bill from the pharmacy that we were constantly trying to whittle down attested. Ear infections and strep throats are costly and my children had plenty of them! So the fact that our medical issues were non-existent was a blessing.

But now - well, every year I cross my fingers when we're going through our screenings and check-ups. It seems as though anything can and will happen once you hit middle age, so we grin and bear it as much as possible. It truly isn't for the faint of heart. But then again, another of my father's favorite sayings was "It's better than the alternative!"