From the time we enter the world until we take our last breath, we will all experience varying degrees of joy and sorrow. How we handle those occasions are how our lives will be played out.

We always have choices. In fact, life is all about choices. Sometimes it feels as though we don't have any, that someone or some event has obviated our choices but, in actuality, we do. We may not like the few we have, but we do have some, nonetheless.

But life doesn't hand us road maps of what's in store for us, nor training manuals telling us how to handle difficult situations. We depend on our experiences, our intuition, and our common sense to see us through the worst of times and, if we're lucky, we've learned how to laugh at ourselves and not take ourselves too seriously.

If we are truly fortunate, we have also learned how to find humor in every hardship to get us through the trials and tribulations of the worst of times and, to eke out whatever joy we can to make the most of the good times, and to make them last as long as we can.

And that's how it goes.