It was inevitable that it would happen at some point — but my dad died. He lived a long life, and generally a happy one — but in the last few years, he was in failing health.
I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t had many close family members die up until now. This is in sharp contrast to my wife who lost her mother while in college, and her father 11 years ago.
Losing a family member creates awareness of one’s own mortality. I’ve been fortunate: I’m healthy, I’m active, and so I haven’t at all been worried about when things will come to a close for me. But now I’m in a different place.
I mean, if I live as long as my dad did, that’s a good thing. He was 94 when he died. That’s a pretty long lifespan. I’m hitting 60 this month. I’d like to think that I’m on track to live at least as long as my dad. But I don’t know.
I guess at the end of the day, one must make the most of their time — so that when things finally end, they have no regrets. It seems perhaps an admission of mortality, but I’m thinking that I need to make a ‘bucket list’ — some documented checklist of all the things that I would like to do before I die.
I guess I need to get that going.