Not every blossom becomes a fruit. And a good thing, too, or the tree’s branches would all break from the load. Sometimes “working out” doesn’t look like the fully developed thing you had imagined.
When have you been grateful that something didn’t make it to fruition?
When my husband and I got married, we assumed we would (eventually) have children. Ten years and several medical problems later, we don’t have children. It seems to be for the best. While I know other people with bipolar who are good parents, I can tell I would not have been one of them. I would have been too overwhelmed, and the lack of sleep would have dire consequences. Pregnancy and postpartum can be tough on someone who starts out “normal”, but could likely demolish the hard-won and still precarious balance that lets me be a functioning person.
The upside: Since I’m not busy with my own brood, I will be available to be a fun auntie to the children my brother and his wife are eager to have.
At one juncture in my professional life, I had one choice to receive a scholarship that would allow me to receive my Masters Degree in Librarianship. With some frugality, it worked out that because of that, I then worked for 18 years until retirement, gaining a significant retirement pension that has given me many opportunities for a very fulfilling life. A choice, however, had to be made. A man of whom I was fond invited me to be a part of his life as an adventurer… but I chose the other path. Emotionally it affected me considerably but, now, after years following my actual choice, I know with certainty that gaining the degree as well as the benefits that followed have given me a richer, more successful and satisfying life.