My 'Going Away' Box

 

I seem stuck in a rut lately. My creative juices have all leaked out. 

Let's see....

I need to think about this for a bit....

I could tell you that I have been busy preparing for a 'What's Next' program for the residents here at my apartment complex. 

What's Next? you ask.. We all are getting older and some of us were discussing dying and getting ready to die. 

I know, morbid, wasn't it? But, if we don't recognize the reality of life, we can't enjoy it. We have to take the bad with the good. If you have breathed your first breath, you WILL breath your last. 

I had just seen a program about how a young wife had chronicled her last days on the internet and how it had helped her and her new husband to deal with things. Yes, we do need to talk about it.

I hear the clock ticking every day. So, I ordered a couple of books and decided I'd share what little I know with the other residents. 

I have a 'going away' file box. It's filled with all the documents my children will need once I am gone. And, there's more to getting your ducks in a row than you think. 

Can you imagine your grieving children having to all of a sudden start going through drawers, closets, safe deposit boxes trying to find things like your birth certificate, your house deed, your cemetery papers etc, etc, etc. I believe in having all that in one place so they won't have to go through all of that trauma. 

And, I am also going to talk about how we want to spend our remaining years... and geez, I hope it's a big number!! 

Would you want to be resusitated? A feeding tube? would you want Hospice so you could probably stay at home? Your family needs to know these things.

How about whether you want to be buried or cremated. Do you have a favorite song you'd want to be sung at the funeral? Maybe certain facts put in your obit. All this needs to be in that 'going away' box. 

Oh, you say, I have all of that in the safe deposit box at the bank. Well, guess what! If you are the only one on your account when you are gone, the bank freezes your assets and your children can't get to what they need. 

Oh, I could go on and on but I won't bore you or 'scare you half to death'. But, we are not guaranteed one more second of life... just because you are young doesn't mean you'll be here 'forever'. I can't believe that I am edging on toward my 91st birthday. Yes, I do hear that clock ticking! I am one of the oldest residents here at our 55+ complex. And, I am in better shape than most of them. I'm not saying that to brag but to be surprised, amazed, it's unbelievable. 

And, through preparing for this 'session' I will be presenting to the residents on the 14th, I am feeling more comfortable with the thought of going away. I feel like I am in control of how my life will play out to the end. That feels good.