Life…Part 2? Or is it Part 3?
How does one measure this Life? When we moved frequently (Army Brat) I measured Life according to the time we spent in a particular place. Seems that is my “go to” as I moved in late September when a long-term relationship ended. (It had ended prior to my moving, but that’s another story)
So, what part of life am I in now? I’m 63, no health issues, still working and loving it, also working on my new writing career and loving it, so am I in Part 2? Or, did that begin when Big relationship number three ended and I had a young child?
I have had sooooo many people tell me, you think too much. I love, love, love to think. How can there be a “too much?” I could counter with, “Well, your lack of thought concerns me” but truly, I’d never say that aloud. Not my style to go out of my way to be rude.
I find that I have little or no tolerance for anyone telling me what to do. Now, this is not a new trait. I have had it all my life, but the “new” part is that I let it out to play. I get to decide how and who to spend my time with and more often than not, it is with myself.
This worked for Thoreau. I mean, the guy wrote a whole book about this very thing and when I read it at age 14, it opened my heart and mind to The Transcendentalists. Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau became my closest companions.
I do look at life and say to myself, “Okay, you are, as Mom would say, “no Spring Chicken,” but I cannot, I mean CANNOT ever picture myself at an Assisted Living Facility or community.
I mean, what are the hallways going to be filled with “Stairway to Heaven” and “Aqualung” as we are served mashed who-the-hell-knows-what-this is food? Uh, no thank you.
Where do the anti-social people go to keep living and thriving? Is there a community for this? There can’t be, because the word eliminates that possibility.
Alright people, I am welcoming thoughts here. Don’t disappoint me, please. What part of life are you in and what do you see in your future?
Thank you for reading today and I welcome your ideas below. If you’re not in the mood to write, if you could acknowledge that you’ve at least opened my piece and hit the heart, I’d appreciate this! Is that “Stairway to Heaven” I hear in the background? (hee/hee)
Well, Mary, at 75, there are some things I couldn’t have imagined before that become reality. My dad did very well in assisted living, where they actually did assist him. Lots different from being in a skilled nursing facility, which my nurse/granddaughter swears she will never allow to happen to me or any other family member to be I have a ling term care policy that will pay me x number if dollars per day for the last three years of my life (based on an actuarial table) that I can use to pay for in home caregiving, which I too believe is what I woukd prefer. My previous husband died at home, but it wasn’t pretty. Better than in the hospital, if you have a choice. Sometimes you don’t. I prefer to plan ahead to the extent that I can. It’s better than living with my eyes closed.
Well, if I measure my life in terms of careers (or attempts at them), I'm now on #4! But if I measure it in terms of the things I find important (nature, dogs, science, music), then I guess nothing's really changed and I'm still on #1.