turning point

kuzi16

Vulchor

stephen_hannibal

Amos Umwhat

Love it! I once heard a doctor ask a patient, known for her complaints, "are you satisfied with your height?" She stumbled around and finally came out with a "yes". "Good" was his reply "because that's about the only thing you can legitimately complain about. Everything else is what YOU make of it." perfect!

ENFIDL

The Marine Corps, and within that doing my tours at The White House and in Iraq. Def made me the man I am today and set me up for success afterward. That and getting my Eagle Scout.

PuroFreak

I've had several in my life that have had a big impact on me, but I have a feeling another is coming very soon... I think it needs to.

The Sniper

bandyt09

Amos Umwhat

ellinas

i agree with blaming things on yourself. i've done that too and it helps me get my act together. one of the things that really changed me and is still making me a different/better person is my dad. it may be weird.....but when he died in march it was like everything he tried to teach me about life just all of the sudden kicked in. so i guess that was my major turning point.

Krieg

Probably the first thing that put me on the right track was getting adopted by my parents. I realized how lucky truly was, in the fact that with my medical conditions, adopting a special needs child rarely happens. I was already 1 year old when I came to live with them. My parents raised me with as much love as I could possibly hope for. Not growing up in the system and being raised by loving parents helped me more than I could ever imagine. The 2nd thing that kept me on the right path is my loving wife. I met her when I was 22 at Target , and she asked me out. I dated her for a few months then married her. No one said it would last, but we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this December. Behind every good man, their is a great woman.

laker1963

Ninja1100

laker1963

fuentejps

the challenges in our life are what shapes us and makes us who we are. if life were easy it wouldnt mean much. im a positive person always, and my life can be a bit challenging somedays, but still my glass stays half full. im lucky, great wife, great fam and a ciomfortable life. so i cant run a fast 1/4 mile, i can crank 26.2 miles in a nice time thou. lifes good,. kuzi, great words. i hate negative ppl, probably why im not in the shop more.

Fourtotheflush

I had a lousy semester in college. Up to that point I was coasting. After that I realized the only way I was going to get by was if I worked much much harder! Thats only one time, there have been others, but thats a pretty good example.

docedwards

Great thread! I think this is a good place to repeat my post re: love unconditional on Mar. 5. In '86 at the age of 28 I married for the first, (and only time). She had 2 sons, (the oldest by adoption), ages 8 and 10. She had been in an abusive marriage which had been witnessed by the children. I loved my wife but was ill-prepared for marriage and certainly "fatherhood". I didn't provide the love and guidance the children needed during this transition and their teen years. I was still in my "selfish age" and was more concerned about my wants and needs. At age 16, Sean went to live with his father, (800 miles away), and at 18, Chris went to college and National Guard. It was not until they were in their early 20's that I realized how special they were. I had deprived them and myself of so many valuable things during their teen years. Sean is now married and we have 4 granddaughters and another due in Jan. and Chris is also married. I now have a strong relationship with them all. Chris still lives nearby and we are able to bike and run together. Sean joined the Army and served in Iraq. He is now out but still lives 800 miles away. (Both have a near non-existent relationship with their father.) I missed out on many things but I am blessed to have a strong family bond and thank God for it. Unfortunately I do have regrets for all the good times I squandered. I pray that I and everyone stay mindful of our blessings so that we may live our lives without regret. The answer to my turning point was the birth of our first granddaughter nearly 12 years ago. It just created a strong family bond for me and I realized I wanted to be around as long as possible to see them all grow up. Over the next few years I started running again, biking, took a less stressful job, and lost 70 pounds. Hope you all have a great week and thanks for listening.

boydmcgowan

kuzi16

Hays

fla-gypsy

This is a great post and needed. I grew up in a great family where real value was placed on each person. I drifted for a while after becoming an adult before realizing how important my family was for me. My wife kept me from going completely off the deep end as a young adult as well as giving me two beautiful children. When the youngest one at 6 yo was diagnosed as epileptic because of a series of seizures I had to decide what kind of father I would be. Fortunately for me the support of my extended family and my church led to a religious conversion that now shapes my life in very good ways. When we decide that the entire world does not revolve around ourselves and we seek how we can help and affect others lives in a positive way, life can take on new meaning. For me, answering to a higher power that judges my life by a standard that I could never acheive on my own, keeps me focused on what really matters.

boydmcgowan

boydmcgowan

These Filthy Hands