Quoted from littlecammi:

I was going to refrain from posting in this thread (because I didn't want to be the only "downer"), until I saw the above post.
It seems the American way is to always compare ourselves to those who have done better than us and have attained more than we have. But while growing up, when we wanted something we couldn't afford, to put things in perspective my Mom would always say "I cried because I had no shoes 'til I met a man who had no feet." (First time I've thought of that in years.)
I retired in 2021 and turned 72 a couple months later. (I envy those able to retire early, since I couldn't afford to do so.) I have severe glaucoma and am now taking four eye medications daily, hoping not to go blind. My wife of more than forty years has recently been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. A brain MRI and PET body scan (both taken this week) will show if the cancer has already spread and determine if treatment will be chemo and localized radiation (to try to stop the cancer if it has not spread) or just much harsher chemo (to try to extend her life expectancy if it has spread). I've been having a hard time falling asleep worrying about losing my sight and worrying about my wife's cancer situation.
But yesterday my wife (who is ten years younger than I am) turned to me and talked about how we have had a pretty good life, since we were never both unemployed at the same time, we long ago paid off our mortgage and have no debts, and we made it through any previous health issues okay, including the breast cancer (unrelated to her current small cell cancer) she had lumpectomy surgery to remove last year. I just hope she has a lot more life to live.