What would you consider to be "the best years of your life"?

Ever since I met my love and had my kids, I’ve been having the best years of my life – there are financial and otherwise difficulties in my life but I’m full of joy so much more than anxiety because nothing, NOTHING, beats having true love and beautiful smart children even if we can’t afford the basics. I always say and truly believe this “I don’t need to gamble because I gambled in love and won, everything else will be pushing it”.

The year after next.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Yeah I consider myself to be rich on life! My son & daughter together with the wife, well you can keep your money & material possessions…..although it’s nice to have those too :¬)

The best years of my life are just beginning. I have been studying and learning so many things that truly make life exciting. I passed away a number of years ago and was brought back and ever since then I have had things take place in life that has opened my mind, heart and soul. I am growing on a daily basis and love what is happening though it is sometimes very tough and difficult to understand or relate to others with. I don’t know why this happened but it did and now I am the recipient of things beyond what I thought possible.

Well first there was the summer between my Junior and Senior years in High School. I was a beach lifeguard, in the best shape of my life, and did not lack in the dating realm. But, than the last twelve years. Met a wonderful girl, had three sweet children, two boys and a girl and life has been bliss ever since. Like Simone says though, right now we have more debt than we’d like and finances are stressful, but the joy outweighs it all. I’m still in decent shape and am keeping my own real estate company afloat in spite of the economy. So I guess I in the midst of my best years.

Of course, the best years here are with my wife and healthy children.

But, there is one other occasion that made this whole year stand out for me.

2006. I saved a life! drunk driver walked into a Mapco Store….nude. police called. i arrived. was in the process of giving this man a field sobriety test, when he collapsed into my arms. i call for an ambulance and started CPR on him. a crowd surrounded me and i told the people to back up. this they did. my victim was not responding to my CPR. feeling desperate for him to live, i tried a technique that officers used back in the 60s. i slapped this man in the face four times and shouted for him to breathe. after my second attempt, he took a deep breath and began breathing on his own. i had saved a life! he was taken to a hospital and had open heart surgery. he is still alive today. how can i ever explain the great feeling of pride that came over me? this only happens maybe once or twice in a police officers career and it happened to me. 2006 will always be a good memory for me.

The best years of my life were the years when I was in Finland, sophomore and junior year.
I got to see what life is like when you aren’t under mountains of pressure.

Probably ages 5–10 when I didn’t have a care in the world and believed the rest of my life would be as rosy, fun, magical and filled with giggles, lots of friends, church, camp, roller skating on the sidewalks, waking up to the smell of mom’s cooking downstairs and fantastic Christmases when I knew Santa loved me!

The best years were bringing up my two kids though it didn’t seem so at the time.

Best is such a relative term. Each era has had its good points and bad points

For example:

My twenties were great because I had little responsibility and was following my dream of being a working musician. Of course the drawback was that I was dirt poor.

In my 30s I had a fantastic wife, a good job, and a nice home to call my own. Of course the drawback was that I had to actually go to work every weekday to support the comfy lifestyle.

In my 40’s I still have the fantastic wife, good job, nice home to call my own and as a bonus I have two great kids that help me vicariously re-discover my youth through them. Of course, the down side is that I have even more responsibility and I still have to spend the majority of my days trading time for money.

Bottom line is that each time of life has its good and bad points. Balance is the key to being content through all of them.

It’s complicated. My answer is college years, but I think it would be as an adult and married to my wonderful husband if it were not for having health issues most of my married life.

@flutherother On a few occasions I have been with my mother out and about while she ran into someone who had a new baby or 2 or 3 young kids and I’ve heard her say to them something like “You might not realize it right now, but you’re so lucky and these are the best years of your life, and someday you’ll look back and realize how amazing they were.”

Anyhow, when I was 16 I got a job at Chick Fil A….I didn’t know anyone there at the time. Within a few months I was dating another kid that worked there and then 2 of his best friends got hired and then my 2 best friends got hired….I still laugh when I think of the staff some nights. It would be 6 or 7 of us. We were all best friends and we had the greatest time. And then, at one point, over the course of a year or so, FOUR of us had been promoted to “assistant team leaders” so certain nights one of us was in charge of the store. We were good at it, somehow, and those nights were even more wild and fun. It was just so ridiculous. We were all together all the time, after work, weekends, and we didn’t even smoke or drink! We just had fun being with each other. And who can dread going to work when you know you’ll be working with your boyfriend and at least 5 of your closest friends? What luck, for a first job, right?

So I wanna say that, because I was really happy, but truly being in love is unmatched by anything else. Having a big beautiful fat cat and living in an amazing and beautiful town is a whole different level.

Therefore I can’t choose.

Here and now… each and every day of my life :)

I’m still living them, all the years of my life have been great…. Right up until now. There have been some ups & downs along the way of course but I’m richer for them… I could complain but at the end of the day my life is my life & I’m just so glad to be able to live it, every day! :-/

When I was young I always heard that phrase “school days are the best days of your life” and I wasn’t in love with school so I used to think “eh?”. Well, looking back, there is of course the complete lack of (serious) responsibilities (no bills have your name on them, no job waiting for you to turn up to start a shift etc) you are kept safe, protected from the evils of the world, and if you’re lucky you haven’t lost anyone yet. That to me has been the worst element of getting older, grieving for lost loved ones, I have in just over 10 years lost 13 loved ones, both family and close friends, Most things you can repair, money problems come and go again but having people you love taken from you punches a whole that never really heals, you just learn to live with it. So, yes, @Aster put it wonderfully above, childhood is an amazing, innocent, wonderful time and I wish I’d listened when I was told to appreciate it.
hugs honeys xx

All the years that I’m breathing!

@bunnygrl Well said :¬)
@BoBo1946 Beats the hell outta the alternative eh? :¬)

ditto mate!

I’m living them now. Everyday I am blessed to wake up with a happy healthy family, and a wonderful man that loves me no matter what. I hope the rest of my life is like this.

Each decade has been good in its own way and better than the previous one. Of course there were periods that were better or worse than others, but each period good or bad, each experience, each year, each decade has gifted me with learning experiences and prepared me for what came next… and for the life I’m enjoying now, which is so rich and exciting.

My 20’s were incredible and by far some of the most interesting fun I have had in my life. But starting about 18 months ago I can pretty much say I am now living the best years of my life. ;)

I have mixed feelings about my childhood but those were tough times emotionally. Teenage years I wouldn’t want to relive because they weren’t so great either. 20’s had some good times and bad and ran myself into the ground, 30’s started with a bang but I have to say my best years are yet to come (33 now).

I would definitely say my 20’s and 30’s.

my kindergarten years.. ^_^

The best years of my life started in 2010 and are still ongoing.

These years, right now.

I enjoyed my 30s and thought they would probably always be what I considered the best years. But, then the 40s were great too. Where I am now is wonderful as well, so I guess I just enjoy life.

I don’t think I’ve had them yet, nor have I had a sustained period of awesome in my life. I’ve had moments, but not years.

So far? School, hands down.
Fed and clothed with a roof over your head, and all you have to do is go and socialize 5 days a week. Didn’t appreciate that at the time though.

If I judge by its pieces, I would say the late 1980’s.
I had my favorite pet, my cocker Waffles.
I had my favoite car, my Subaru.
I had my kids at my favorite ages for them, when my daughter was 4 and my son was 2.
I was on one of my favorite crew assignments at work.
and yet, I remember that time being hectic and worrysome. I was overwhelmed with bills. I was going crazy with the problems my wife had with family.

My favorite times seem to be now. I am comfortable with many aspects of my life, I have a retirement house, and I am in a much calmer place.

@Arbornaut school was without doubt the worst for me. Five days a week of almost constant terror, and fear for my physical safety, and no-one I cound trust to go to.

I hope they haven’t happened yet.