Sherry Young: Everyday we have decisions that will impact our lives

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment," or so funnyman Will Rogers once wisely surmised.

Face it, we all try, but no one is perfect, and sometimes it shows. There are times we just don't have the patience or the knowledge we need, or even the right information to make good decisions.

Take for example my Grandmother Steed. I remember tripping over the carpet strips she placed at the doorways on top of her carpets. Her pretty lamps always looked tacky because she left the plastic wrapping on them, thinking that would preserve them — depression era economy.

Come to find out, the wrap attracts dust and dirt and the carpets rubbing one another wear them out faster

My neighbor, Dr. Joe Haggard, tells of a 101-year-old gentleman who came to him for an eye check. The man could not perceive any light and had two of the largest cataracts Joe had ever seen.

He asked him if he had ever been diagnosed and the man replied that he had at the age of 80 but it was determined it was not worth having the operation for the few years he could benefit from it.

The man had gone for almost another 20 years seeing poorly and then not at all.

The gentleman had his cataracts removed and lived to be 106, finding great joy in his new vision — a great example of someone truly "seeing the light."

It is also a sad statement that 20 years ago someone 80 years old was deemed beyond repair.

What if Moses had believed that?

Many of our decisions have to do with the opportunities that come our way and the support system surrounding us.

Our youngest son, Jim, inherited his grandmother's art gene and graduated from college with his BFA. He had talent, and his professors were encouraging him to use his talents. But he had two doctor brothers who were telling him, "Jim you are going to starve."

Having gone through the process themselves, they helped Jim through the maze of applying and then negotiating medical school.

Because he was married and starting a family, he was blessed with a talented and energetic wife who was willing to carry more than her share of the load.

Who is to say if that was a good decision or not?

Perhaps Jim would have been a famous artist by now. Perhaps he will find time later in his life to paint again, which is what he is hoping to do.