44 and Retired...

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People often ask the question, "if you won the lottery, would you continue to work?" I used to be the kind that answered, "of course I'd still work!" Well, here I am, I didn't win any lotteries, in fact, I lost the biggest lottery of them all... I went disabled. After 5 years of going in and out of hazes, short term memory problems, going days without being able to sleep (or sleeping all day), I'm finally healthy enough to have some fun. The last couple of years I've pushed myself to try to improve my situation. I've tried school (twice), but crashed and burned because I missed too many classes. I tried volunteering with organizations, but my disability has rendered me pretty undependable, so I wasn't much good there either. When my disabilities hit, they retired me from the Wisconsin National Guard. I also have a disability rating from the VA for injuries I sustained while in the Regular Army. I've also hung my shingle to teach guitar, so I do bring in some money. So here I am, 44 years old and have decided something. Instead of lamenting my disabilities, I'm enjoying my retirement. In other words... I've "won the lottery" and I'm telling the job market to just go on without me... I'd laugh all the way to the bank, but why do I need a bank just to laugh. ;~D