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Sometimes I start to think about how much time I have left in life, but my mind can't seem to stay on it. It's as if something is making me distract myself from this thought.
If you do think about this, what kinds of things do you think about?
Sometimes I think about this, yes, but then I realize I could be hit by a bus tomorrow or run into a million other things that can cause my untimely death. So I don't think about this much.
But I do include my expected future use of items in the decision matrix. i.e., I now buy more tools at Harbor Freight and other discount sources where 30-40 years ago I never considered them. Life expectancy is no longer a consideration for a tool which may be a single use item.
On the flip side of the same cost/benefit decision, absence of future maintenance is far more important now. In the past I may have said, "Heck, I can fix that when it needs repair."
LMAO If and when I get a house built, I'll let them put on a 50 year roof. No worries about ever having to replace it.
I'm 64 and often think about how much time I have left. I really don't want to live more than about another 20 years and hope that I depart this world before ever becoming either mentally or physically incapacitated. And quite frankly, I look forward to going home to be with the Lord.
There are certain things that it is just good 'adulting' to do - to make sure one's affairs are in order, to pay off debts, to take care of insurance, wills, perhaps buying a headstone and plot or setting aside the money for it. Similarly, taking care of one's health with the realization that bodies wear out and that while we cannot prevent death we can have an influence on quality of life and our dependency on others as we age, if we are lucky. Likewise, if there are certain things you want to do that are harder or impossible when you may become frail or infirm, then realizing the increasing likelihood of that as you age and making plans to do those things sooner rather than later are just logical decisions. If you fail to think about it at all and don't do any preparations or planning, you could leave behind a mess for your loved ones when you pass. That doesn't mean one needs to fret about it or act as if they are already dead or nearly so. But avoidance is illogical.
It's also interesting how so many who have relatives who lived to 92 or 95 have piped up to exclaim their own great genetics and family longevity, and to relay their strong feeling that they may duplicate this.
Very few who have relatives who died in early or earlier old age in their early or late 60's, early or late 70's, and early 80's - who died not from accidents, but from health problems, feel like discussing it.
People who have relatives who died from health problems in early old age feel less compelled to talk about lack of longevity among their relatives. (not due to accidents, but due to health problems)
Last edited by matisse12; 02-18-2018 at 05:07 PM..
It's also interesting how so many who have relatives who lived to 92 or 95 have piped up to exclaim their own great genetics and family longevity, and to relay their strong feeling that they may duplicate this.
Oh, I think it's a hope that they might live as long. And why not hope? It costs nothing.
Me, I'm just marveling at the fact that a parent has made it to 87 despite having been a couch potato and smoker for 60 years. Apparently COPD kills but not necessarily quickly.
It's hard to not think about our own demise, or lifespan, reading any of the great Irish literature. Inspired by the Green Mile post way above, I give you James Joyce:
All the time. I have had a good life. I've seen the world. This year, I am starting to sell off my possessions in preparation for a major downsize and move in the next couple of years. I've reviewed my wishes and important documents with my son.
I don't want to outlive my children/grandchildren so if that means death next week, so be it. I have worked in a Nursing Home as an RN in the past and have no desire to go in one, ever! I want no heroic measures or treatment except pain medication and I am not getting long term care insurance.
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