This month my father will celebrate his 83rd
birthday. It’s hard to believe that’s he’s that age and I still remember him as
a young man working hard to earn a living for his family. My mother is 78 and
she still gets around really well, but my father is starting to struggle.
Aging is just part of life’s journey and I know that
eventually we all die, but until the last five years I never realized how
difficult the journey could be. Unfortunately, I fear that I haven’t seen the
worst yet and know that eventually there will be a time when my family members
will be gone.
In the last five years, we’ve lost my husband’s
mother, my grandmother, my aunt and an uncle. And I know that this is just the
beginning. All my family is aging and for that matter, so am I.
Before my mother-in-law died at the age of 88, she
told me she was ready to go because all of her friends had passed on. She said
you reach a time when you no longer have funerals to attend and you’re the only
one left. That statement has stayed with me and I know that there could come a
day when that will be the case with me.
At first this really bothered me, but the logical
part of me says that this is just part of life. This journey we call everyday
living will someday come to an end. The optimistic side of me says that’s why
we’re to love each other and enjoy our time together. Live each day to the
fullest.
