Rachel

So blessed. Love living in beautiful Germany.

Society started going downhill when we started segregating our children and elderly in to institutions.

I am forever grateful that I lived at a time when we could afford (heartfelt thanks to my hard-working chaddy) for me to spend my time and energy in bringing up our children. Around a quarter of a century all in all. A quarter-ish of my life, if I’m lucky. There is no job title nor salary that could have sufficiently compensated me to have missed out on those precious years - even in part. It was a small fraction of my life when I zoom out, though it often didn’t feel it at the time. Being a full-time mum was the hardest and most worthwhile thing I’ve done to date by a long shot and I can’t see anything topping it (bar potentially being a grandma, but this honour has yet to be experienced … fingers firmly crossed). Life is simple. We make it complicated. Meaningful relationships matter most. My nearest and dearest might miss me and occasionally think of me when I buggar off (hopefully). A legal entity won’t. Online followers won’t. We should always be mindful how we spend our time and energy - our most precious, limited resources - during our short time on this wonderful earth. We come without stuff, we leave without stuff. It’s never about stuff.

Study the most common regrets people have on their death bed and live your life accordingly.

We can - and will - do SO much better. Optimistic for the future. Even though it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.