I am 50 years old and loving it, your local Huntington County Realtor Andy Eckert

I am 50 years old as of Oct 21st 2016

The first 10 years of my life consisted of being born and having life saving surgery a few months later (obstructed bowel). When I was a toddler I wandered off and was mauled by a neighbors dog and underwent reconstructive surgery on my nose and lip area which is why I have such animal attraction. The rest of the decade was pretty much made up of playing, school and burning stuff behind the garage.

The next 10 years consisted of me playing sports, learning about the outdoors and having the best childhood I could hope for. I started playing sports in the back yards of friends and on Yancy street mastering Tenny Ball and football by the age of 12. We played 21 next door at Bill and Ann Lightners for hours or until Bill told us to hit the road. I was introduced to wrestling by my Uncle Jack and his sons Pete and Dave. That took the athlete in me to a whole other direction and put me on a track to big things. I excelled at sports no matter what it was and at the time felt that was all I had to look forward to as I wasn’t a good student or a diligent worker. That’s about the time God stepped in and woke me when I had my diving accident and all plans changed. I finished that decade graduating HS with a love of reading and a desire to work with others.

When I entered my 20s I was still feeling the after effects of my neck injury so sports for me became golf and chasing girls, I never became the golfer I wanted to be, but I did manage to catch my girl. I spent my early 20s working, golfing, hunting and growing up. I always stayed close to my family and friends which I still do today. When born an Eckert you have 2 choices, to be social or to move. Halfway through my 20s I got married and started a family which accelerated my growing up phase. The rest of my 20s is a blur.

My 30s is where I started getting to understand my place in life as a Father, Husband, Brother, Son and Friend but mostly a Christian. I experienced the growth of my children and the loss of my job due to recessions and another near death experience. Dealing with the job loss was the hardest but the other 2 were a close 2nd. Steph helped me trudge along and showed me that there was hope and to keep working hard which paid off.

My 40s brought me into the Real Estate business full time and an entire different approach to life. I found myself having to be my own boss which was a challenge but also allowed for me to share myself and time with others in a bigger way. I found moving my kids to college was the biggest accomplishment of my life and seeing them grow into independent pain in the butts was rewarding and scary.

I now find myself starting a new decade wishing I would have taken better care of myself but ready to see this thing through to the end. The best Birthday gift I received was a letter from one of my best friends, Lisa Fortini reminding me how valuable a good friend is no matter how far away they live or how often we see each other or talk.

I do feel blessed with my LIFE and all of YOU!!!!!!!