Happiness

On his HAPPINESS show, Dennis Prager said "Don't Depend on your children to provide you with happiness.", or words to that effect, and he is so right. I have two grown children, whom I love very much, and who love me, but we can't depend upon each other to provide us with happiness. For one thing, they live in Texas and I live in California, so geographically this is an obstacle. However, my daughter comes to visit once or twice per year, because she has to travel for her work, so whenever she has an assignment on the West Coast, she tries to include a few extra days to come to see me, but -- not only does she come to see me -- she also has sons, grandchildren, and friends to see as well, so her time is limited.

My son is a truck driver, and has limited time off. When he does take a vacation, he doesn't want to come to California to see me, he wants to spend it with his family and friends. I can't blame his for that, because I'm not much fun (I am almost 89 years old). When I asked him to come and see me, he asked what would we do. My reply was that we would play Skipbo and talk politics -- hardly worth a long trip just for that.

Then there is the personality factor. Although I love and admire my daughter a lot, our personalities are entirely different. She's a liberal Democrat, and I am a conservative Republican. Naturally, we don't talk too much about politics when we're together. Politically, my son and I are on the same path, but none of us believe the same when it comes to religion, so that's always a bone of contention. In spite of the differences, I do enjoy seeing them and spending time with them, but it's always a relief when they leave.