“The reservoir of all possible opportunities still available to you at this point in your life."

I’ve been an English teacher for most of my adult life. I wouldn’t say I’m the best, but I work damn hard to do my best. However, I lack some of the formal education needed to move up to the more prestigious and better-paying schools. Acquiring those accreditations would require time and money I simply just don’t have. It’s fine, though: my current job pays well enough and allows me the freedom to create the best learning environment for my students.

As for relationships, I’m approaching forty and might be coming out of an eight-year relationship soon. The prospect of dating again in my forties doesn’t exactly thrill me as people tend to have very rigid lives at this age. Families, careers, and other obligations can quickly nullify what might otherwise be a genuine connection. I often wonder how many romances were left to wither simply because of scheduling conflicts. My life, too, has become rigid now with a nice job in a nice area within walking distance of my nice apartment. Heartache aside, my life has become rather nice after so many years of struggle and I’m not in a rush to start rolling the dice again.

Well, that’s not quite true: there is one person in my life right now that might inspire me to pick up the dice again, like she’s inspired me to do so many other things. But that’s a question that doesn’t need to be answered now. I still have some time to enjoy what is without worrying about what will be.

My reservoir of possibilities still has a few drops left in it.