I do. 
Sometimes I’m not sure why I feel that way–maybe it’s the eternal optimism that keeps me in count-my-blessings mode, but almost always I feel like life is good.
Okay, I could use more money. (Who couldn’t?) My family hovers just above poverty level as far as income goes. Hand to mouth is a given, there is not a lot of money for extras, and when an emergency occurs, it is genuinely an emergency. But somehow, things always work out…I scrimp here and juggle there, and we get through, month after month.
I have two jobs and love them both. Delivering papers doesn’t sound like a dream job to most people, but it allows me a lot of time at home with the kids and the animals and the garden. My second job is providing eldercare. My clients are elderly, some of them are unwell, some of them will not be here much longer. They are on a journey, each and every one, and I am honored to be a part of it. It’s amazing.
I’m a happily-single parent with two kids still at home. The older kids are both grown and apparently happy with their life choices, and I find admire them so much. They are good, decent young men. The younger two are really cool kids. I finally, after many years, have made peace with their father. He lives very nearby (in a house I found for him, even!) and it seems to work very well for the children.
Our little house is…well, little. But it’s ours, and we are so happy to have it. I went from bankruptcy to home ownership in two years and 1 month, and it was a hell of a hard job. I don’t regret a minute of it. There’s a little garden (more than one, actually), a big backyard for the dog to dig up, and neighbors who drop in to visit and knit and occasionally knock back a margarita or three. It’s nice.
When I got back together with my childhood sweetheart, he apologized for what he thought was excessive nosiness. I told him he could ask me anything–I have nothing to hide and no one to answer to save myself and my children. And I guess that’s a pretty nice place to be.
I wake up every morning glad to be where I am, as humble as it may be.
In short, I got it good. Do you feel that way? All the time? Sometimes?
I don’t think a lot of people would look at me and say that I’ve got it good- like you, I am a single mom, have been for a long time, don’t make a lot of money but I survive. But I feel incredibly fortunate when I consider my excellent health and my freedom to live as I want, within reason. I’m, if not happy, then at least content. I’m good with that, for now.
I feel like I’ve got it pretty good. I’m healthy, I make good money and a get a decent amount of time off. My job…well, I’d prefer to be doing something else, but it more than pays the bills. I have family and friends that I can depend on. Everything else is gravy.
I’ve have it pretty damn good in a lot of ways, and REALLY shitty (I mean really) in a couple of areas in my life.
So overall, yes, good. Could be better, and I’m surrounded by people who do have easier lives than me … BUT … I realize I have it better than probably oh, 90% of the world’s population. So I’m not complaining.
Yeah. I have a lot of disposable income (no kids), my parents are alive, healthy and I am close with them. My brother and I are close and his wife is great. I’ve got friends who would do almost anything for me.
If my house blew up today or my car fell to pieces I would not want for a place to live or a vehicle to drive.
I wish I had romantic love more than anything but as far as everything goes, I’ve got it going on.
Sure do.
I do have it good. But I never feel that way. The only reason I haven’t been hit by an anvil falling from the sky is that I’m constantly watching for them. Relax for a moment, and blam.
I always feel like I’ve got it good. My life is just about perfect in every possible way.
But it took many years to get there.
Yup.
I even have a hot gf.
Pretty much everyone here has it really good good compared with most people who have ever lived on the earth.
Yes. I have a job I love, a partner who is supportive and fantastic, a comfortable and far too large home, a garden, healthy pets, a loving family, great friends, hobbies, disposable income to a certain level, curiosity and the means to satisfy it, and so much more.
I have problems, of course, like all people, but a lot of them are “first world” problems. I have some health issues, but they are relatively minor.
I was lucky enough to be born at a time and in a place in which I am not oppressed or prevented from participating in society due to my gender.
All in all, I have it great.
I have a front loading washing machine.
This means I have a steady supply of water and electricity. This also means I have a home to keep said washing machine. Additionaly, it means that I have more clothes than the ones on my back. Not to mention the fact that I have enough money to buy an expensive washing machine.
I do animal rescue. This means that I have the room and resources to take in unwanted animals and get them adoptable.
I’d guess that about 80 percent of the people alive today would chew off their right arm to have my life.
I wasn’t born in a third-world slum or a peasant farming household. I wasn’t born in a place like North Korea, Sudan, or Afghanistan. I’ve never been in a war zone or in a place where an epidemic was raging. I have full use of a healthy body and mind.
Only a fool would ask for more.
I know what you mean. My life is far from perfect and kind of rotten sometimes. I know very well that it could be much, much worse though and that thought haunts me. I’m better off than most people on Earth but it’s hard to appreciate it when I can’t shake this anxiety.
To answer the OP, yes I have it good. Too good and I know I’ll be punished for it somehow.
Goodness, is it Thanksgiving already?
No life is perfect, but when I look around and see the shit that some other people are going through, it’s staggering how good I’ve got it. Living in the US, I’ve already got it better than most of the rest of the world, but even among my fellow US residents, my life is relatively blessed.
I have no major health issues. A little elbow arthritis, and I expect I’ll have some significant back trouble in the next few decades, but it’s not like I’m quadraplegic or have a major depressive disorder.
I’m married to a reasonable woman. “Reasonable” means that although we have disagreements from time to time (everybody does), they never devolve into screaming insults; we always manage to talk to each other and work through whatever’s troubling us. She’s funny, and she laughs at my jokes, too. Somehow she puts up with my farts (which are numerous and voluminous), for which I’m grateful.
Wife and I make good money. Seven years ago I stumbled into a hobby that’s turned into a side business, supplementing our income by $25K-$35K per year. As a result, we are living well - we stay in nice hotels when we travel, and eat at nice restaurants - but we are also living well within our means, able to stash 50% of our pre-tax income toward retirement and non-retirement savings. Our net worth is above what experts suggest it ought to be for our age.
We have a sturdy house in a nice neighborhood with clean air and short commutes.
I have a job with excellent security and good benefits, including generous vacation time.
I am smart. I have a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and I have math, critical-thinking, and analytical skills that a lot of people seem to be lacking. I will never fall for the 419 scam, I will never give all my investment money to someone like Bernie Madoff, I will never buy a house with an adjustable-rate mortgage that ends up beyond my means to pay, I will never mire myself in tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt. This all sounds like sneak-bragging (or just bragging), but christ, there are a lot of people out there who have been 419’d, lost their nest egg, saddled with an impossible mortgage, or are drowning in credit card debt, and I’m not one of them, so yeah, having a brain that keeps me out of that kind of trouble, I’d say I’ve got it good.
I’m close to the rest of my family. My parents are old and getting older, but for now they’re sane and reasonably healthy, and I enjoy talking to them (and my siblings and their kids) on the phone and visiting them when I can.
Hell yeah, I’ve got it good.
At times like this I think about Andy Singer’s “Successful man/unsuccessful man” cartoon. See this page and scroll down a few times.
So far so good. (Knock on wood)
Absolutely.
Louis C.K. on Conan - Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.
Compared to the rest of the world, I have it great. Compared to other “middle class” Americans, I have it pretty good. I own my home, have a newish car. I have a job that is stable and allows me to save some money. I can afford pretty much whatever I need within reason. I can’t complain when so many others are struggling right now.
Thanks for that papergirl. I’m back to fighting my own brain chemistry demons lately - I have it darn good, but its easy to forget when the neurons are firing while switched to “anxiety” and “depression.”