Good Morning!
So, we’ll see you tomorrow at 10:00 at the Port Angeles Senior Center for our “Staying Independent Fair,” which could be appropriately renamed the “This-is-a-Really-Lousy-Name-but-we-Couldn’t-Think-of-a-Better-One Fair?” Good! The title notwithstanding, it’ll be worth your time.
Or how about a little jaunt out to Forks on Saturday for the “2nd Annual Forks Family Fair?” Really! 10:00 to 2:00 at the Forks Elks Lodge, with fun freebies for kids and info from over 20 service providers that might help some us keep getting one foot in front of the other. It’s free – See you there?
Now that our memories have begun to fade, did you notice how deftly I ignored “April Fool’s Day” last month? There was something about that particular…day that just seemed less-than-appropriate for our ongoing topic; specifically, “Life on Earth,” but we all know what that secretly means.
Come to think of it, though, that’s an interesting reaction on my part: “…Ooohh…Can’t laugh about ‘April Fool’s Day’ cuz we’re talking about death…ooohh…” Really? Why? Because death is such a dark, depressing and scary subject that we shouldn’t…Whistle as we pass the graveyard?
Because if we laugh, Death will notice us and think, “Oh, RIGHT! I forgot about that one…?”
No, I think (speaking only for myself) that I backed away from that out of fear of being disrespectful; meaning, simply, that there are so many of us that someone is bound to have lost someone…yesterday. Or today.
…and I’m not willing to risk disrespecting that.
But let’s see what you have to say, minimally edited, out of respect:
“I moved to Sequim about a year ago and started getting the Peninsula Daily News and right away I enjoyed your column! I like your sense of humor and the information you provide is very helpful!
I have made a life journey and with NO regrets! Because of your advice, I got all of our things in order for my husband and myself. I had been assigned his fiduciary by the VA and HAD to have my stuff together. He had an accident in 2005 and at the time, he was a retired high ranking officer, 100% disabled, out of the US Army. We had to prove any connection between the accident and his disability and that took us the better part of 5 years, being denied along the way. Finally, with the help of many people he was given the deserved benefits along with back pay!!
We moved to Sequim where we were introduced to wonderful therapists and a caregiver that made our lives a joy! I took him to his 50th Reunion at West Point and we enjoyed a cruise to Alaska!
He was confined to a wheelchair and could not speak but he was able to communicate how happy he was here in our paradise. Every morning he took joy in the mountains and just the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula!
He died on December 15, 2011 with all of his family here.
I have filed the will, gotten my SS benefits along with all of the Army Benefits and Insurance my dear husband had arranged for me. And now, I have a binder for my children with everything I want done when I am gone along with insurance papers and pre-paid arrangements for my body. Hopefully not for a while yet!!
And above all...I have NO regrets!!!”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we’re doing what we’re doing.
We’ve been all about “getting ready,” right? We’ve simplified, consolidated, organized and revealed where all this information resides; in all likelihood we’ve probably also:
* “revised and updated,” meaning reworked that 19-year-old address book with the kids’ and friends’ and kin’s CURRENT addresses and phone numbers (e-mail addresses?) and eliminated information that needed to be…eliminated;
* “centralized” (see above) – 89 scraps of paper with this-or-that address or phone number and no date creates a fascinating hobby for those who are charged with notifying others of your ill-planned departure;
* discovered and remembered. It’s funny how, when you’re going through and doing all this stuff, you “find” things – Things you’d forgotten, which remind you of people you’d forgotten, which reminds you of stories you’d forgotten, which…Will continue to be forgotten unless you DO something about them. And this, my friends, is a sign of life.
So, we’ve been so busy gathering all of this info and minutiae on other entities/agencies/organizations/people, I wonder if we remembered to gather it on ourselves? Some might call this “legacy information.” Think about it:
If someone else is expected to write an obituary (which you could have done yourself, you know), will they know exactly where you were born, what high school you attended and what year you were elected Grand Vizier of the Pooh-Bah? Probably not, so give them a break and assemble this info (at least the parts that you want shared) while you’re still capable of assembling.
And, by the way, if you’re the unlucky designated obituary writer who has been launched on a Snipe Hunt for said info, try to find an old resume’ – Amazing source of information!
Alright, enough – We’re probably as ready as we’re going to get; oh sure, there’s always somebody who has one more good idea, and they usually are, so feel free to incorporate them, because there is NO SUCH THING as the final, ultimate, comprehensive, this-will never-change “Getting Ready for Death List.” Do you know why? Right:
Because there is no such thing as the final, ultimate, comprehensive, this-will-never-change life.
Be it ever thus.
No comments:
Post a Comment