Having recently celebrated my 52nd Birthday, I was talking again with my wife Kathy about our lives.

Kathy and I have a lot of opposites in our lives, I was an only child, she has 6 siblings.

She thinks we are polar opposites politically, I think we are closer than she realizes, but we have different views on how to solve some of the political based problems.

We share a love that overcomes the differences, (which make life less boring), and instead focus on our common bonds including our faith, our sense of humor and our support for each other.

So as far as Wise… Wisdom comes with age only if we keep learning.  Curiosity combined with access to the web can make anyone as wise as they want.

Wealthy?  That’s all a matter of perspective.  I work in the world of marketing and advertising.  My primary responsibility is to sell stuff and get paid to do so. I am in a profession that I can always find work.  I walked away from my last job this year after 8 years to move into the web world. While there has been a bit of a learning curve, which I expected, I am never afraid of being unemployed.  And that is significant in this age we live in.

Kathy also has the opportunity to never be unemployed with her experience and credentials in health care, plus she launched her Life Coaching business a few years ago.  Will we be wealthy?  Not compared to some, but we’re not comparing ourselves to the mega-rich.

Health.  This is a subject that each of us need to take personal responsibility for. You can’t really say, “I’m not as fat as ______”, and ignore your own health.

Ignorace is not bliss.

I know that my family has had a history of early deaths and some have lived long lives.

On my Mom’s side, she passed away in 2001 at the age of 68 from a heart attack.  We discovered afterwards that she had heart disease. Her Mom also died from disease, cancer.

On my Dad’s side, both of his parents passed away before I was born and he died at age 67 from cancer.

But an early death, (before age 70) is not inevitable. I have an Uncle Bill on my Mom’s side who is now around 80. My Dad’s oldest brother Uncle Dean and my Aunt Jean are still going strong.  I’m not sure their exact ages, but I’m guessing they will live to be in their 90’s.

So, I’m not exactly sure which steps I will be taking to improve my health, but eating habits is one I will be taking a close look at and making adjustments.

After all, if you’re not Healthy, all the “Wealthy and Wise” is wasted.

(The featured picture today is my first wedding, when I was 6 and a ring bearer along with my cousin Susie as the flower girl at a family wedding.)