I love how you shared this, Jan. Most people aren’t comfortable talking about it. My only sibling died when he was 33, my mom was 43, and my dad was 63. I’m 66 now and always thankful if I made it past a year with a 3 in it. When I was young and in nursing school, I use to read the obits…my friends thought I was losing my mind! Now I read them, because we are of the age you start losing classmates and old friends. I try very hard to celebrate a life and not focus so much on the mourning part. We have to celebrate the lives of the people we love, and be thankful for the time we have with them😘
OMG Nancy ~ I can see why you were spooked by 3's. I know a lot of people who give out a big sigh when they live longer than their parents. I'm pretty good celebrating instead of mourning, but I'm really worried about losing my husband. Trying to focus on enjoying the time we have left. We're in Florida vacationing right now. Had to laugh the other day when we were out walking. He looked over at me and asked if I were all right; I looked over at him later and asked if he were ok. Don't want to over do it. Ha! Take care! Thanks for sharing.
I don’t fear death, I actually know where I’m going when I pass. I use to say I want to be buried instead of being cremated. Though the more I think about it I do want to be cremated and be laid to rest in Kentucky beside my parents.
When my sister passed I felt guilty for not being there to say good bye. It was supposed to be me, but God had other plans I guess. I’ve asked a hundred times why. I was ready again God had other plans. When Dad died in 2024 we were all there it was so peaceful and that was what my dad wanted. I read Palms 23 and we said the Lords Prayer. We celebrate both my sister and my dad by talking about them and the funny things or some real serious things about them. But either way I will be with them again. It’s not good bye it’s just see you later for now.
Thanks Jan I always enjoy reading your writings. Thank for sharing.
Interesting post and topic Jan. Over the years as I aged I was more open to celebrating a life with memories and the reality of the inevitable. That changed a month ago when the inevitable came too early, too suddenly for my son. I have only sadness now that clouds the memories. I know I will get to celebration eventually, through beautiful memories, but now I just have questions. I do not fear my own death, as I have lived a good life. I now fear the death of those I love more than before. The pain is intense. Thank you for the thought provoking article. I will, hopefully, take moment by moment moving toward that celebration of life.
Oh, Linda ~. you are living my greatest fear - losing someone so close. I can’t imagine the grief. I’m hoping the clouds of sadness lift a little so you can feel some relief. Thank you for letting me into your life. {{Hugs}}
I don't think my views on dying have changed, they are as my views, on aging.
That was until this year. Jim turned 80 last month and we celebrated our 10th anniversary in December I turned 79 last September.... Up until this last year I rarely thought about age.
I know in my heart that God has a plan, and my job is to trust that I will be here to walk that path until he calls me home. I don't plan things too far down the road. My bucket list is nonexistent.
Several years ago, we bought a grave site in Forest, Jim wants to be buried, I want cremation with my ashes placed in a biodegradable urn that has wildflower and tree seeds imbedded, to be planted on my Granddaughters farm in Three Rivers, Michigan.
I feel that our time here on earth is similar to gestational time for our souls and spirit to mature and enlighten, ripen and grow to be set free to the next assignment.
My mom lived until almost 94, my dad lived until almost 70. I'm not worry about what's next.
I love your attitude, Pat. And I love the idea of the biodegradable urn. I have never heard of that before. Thanks for sharing. You gave me a lot to think about. {{Hugs}}
Condolences to both you and Stoney. Sadly, the older we get the more friends and family we lose. I know it's part of life but it's still hard sometimes to feel so close to the inevitable. Celebrating those we've lost is the best that we can do. Hugs!
You, My Friend, have experienced the loss of a child at a young age. I can't imagine that. One thing I've learned for sure though is whenever I think I understand Life, it changes. xoxo
Thank you so much for sharing Jan. My views on death have changed a lot over the years. I experienced the worst of it when I lost my dad at just 11 years old.
I didn't go to another funeral for over 20 years, but I have started to soften my stance as I've reached middle age. The loss of a former classmate in 2017 opened the floodgates and I've since embraced death more, celebrating the lives of people who helped mentor me instead of mourning their deaths. Dying is one of the few things we all have in common.
Hi Brian ~ so glad you've started celebrating people you love when they die. You got there faster than me. My dad died young too, and it was a terrible experience because my grandma had weird religious beliefs. She asked my mom what evil thoughts she had that caused the cancer. Yikes! You can imagine what that did to the family. Thanks for sharing today. It is an uncomfortable topic for a lot of people. {{Hugs}}
I just love reading your sub stack editions, even today’s about death! Why? Your endings bring me back to smiling. Let’s see if I get this right. “The worst place to have a heart attack is playing Charades with your friends, especially if they’re bad guessers.” Now if that doesn’t leave you laughing, you might as well be dead anyway! 😜
It's amazing how a spoonful of humor makes the medicine go down. Ha! We're on our way back to Upper so I'm trying to joke with Stoney a lot -- the old trucker had to fight a massive traffic jam for two hours yesterday because of an accident near Ocala. Death is a touchy subject for sure. It'll Be OK. Take care!
I love how you shared this, Jan. Most people aren’t comfortable talking about it. My only sibling died when he was 33, my mom was 43, and my dad was 63. I’m 66 now and always thankful if I made it past a year with a 3 in it. When I was young and in nursing school, I use to read the obits…my friends thought I was losing my mind! Now I read them, because we are of the age you start losing classmates and old friends. I try very hard to celebrate a life and not focus so much on the mourning part. We have to celebrate the lives of the people we love, and be thankful for the time we have with them😘
OMG Nancy ~ I can see why you were spooked by 3's. I know a lot of people who give out a big sigh when they live longer than their parents. I'm pretty good celebrating instead of mourning, but I'm really worried about losing my husband. Trying to focus on enjoying the time we have left. We're in Florida vacationing right now. Had to laugh the other day when we were out walking. He looked over at me and asked if I were all right; I looked over at him later and asked if he were ok. Don't want to over do it. Ha! Take care! Thanks for sharing.
I don’t fear death, I actually know where I’m going when I pass. I use to say I want to be buried instead of being cremated. Though the more I think about it I do want to be cremated and be laid to rest in Kentucky beside my parents.
When my sister passed I felt guilty for not being there to say good bye. It was supposed to be me, but God had other plans I guess. I’ve asked a hundred times why. I was ready again God had other plans. When Dad died in 2024 we were all there it was so peaceful and that was what my dad wanted. I read Palms 23 and we said the Lords Prayer. We celebrate both my sister and my dad by talking about them and the funny things or some real serious things about them. But either way I will be with them again. It’s not good bye it’s just see you later for now.
Thanks Jan I always enjoy reading your writings. Thank for sharing.
Thank you for sharing, Shari. Death is a touchy subject with some, but I enjoyed reading about your life experience. {{Hugs}}
Interesting post and topic Jan. Over the years as I aged I was more open to celebrating a life with memories and the reality of the inevitable. That changed a month ago when the inevitable came too early, too suddenly for my son. I have only sadness now that clouds the memories. I know I will get to celebration eventually, through beautiful memories, but now I just have questions. I do not fear my own death, as I have lived a good life. I now fear the death of those I love more than before. The pain is intense. Thank you for the thought provoking article. I will, hopefully, take moment by moment moving toward that celebration of life.
Oh, Linda ~. you are living my greatest fear - losing someone so close. I can’t imagine the grief. I’m hoping the clouds of sadness lift a little so you can feel some relief. Thank you for letting me into your life. {{Hugs}}
Hi Jan,
I don't think my views on dying have changed, they are as my views, on aging.
That was until this year. Jim turned 80 last month and we celebrated our 10th anniversary in December I turned 79 last September.... Up until this last year I rarely thought about age.
I know in my heart that God has a plan, and my job is to trust that I will be here to walk that path until he calls me home. I don't plan things too far down the road. My bucket list is nonexistent.
Several years ago, we bought a grave site in Forest, Jim wants to be buried, I want cremation with my ashes placed in a biodegradable urn that has wildflower and tree seeds imbedded, to be planted on my Granddaughters farm in Three Rivers, Michigan.
I feel that our time here on earth is similar to gestational time for our souls and spirit to mature and enlighten, ripen and grow to be set free to the next assignment.
My mom lived until almost 94, my dad lived until almost 70. I'm not worry about what's next.
I love your attitude, Pat. And I love the idea of the biodegradable urn. I have never heard of that before. Thanks for sharing. You gave me a lot to think about. {{Hugs}}
Condolences to both you and Stoney. Sadly, the older we get the more friends and family we lose. I know it's part of life but it's still hard sometimes to feel so close to the inevitable. Celebrating those we've lost is the best that we can do. Hugs!
You, My Friend, have experienced the loss of a child at a young age. I can't imagine that. One thing I've learned for sure though is whenever I think I understand Life, it changes. xoxo
You are not wrong! I can't begin to understand the hows and whys. I'm glad God knows!
Thank you so much for sharing Jan. My views on death have changed a lot over the years. I experienced the worst of it when I lost my dad at just 11 years old.
I didn't go to another funeral for over 20 years, but I have started to soften my stance as I've reached middle age. The loss of a former classmate in 2017 opened the floodgates and I've since embraced death more, celebrating the lives of people who helped mentor me instead of mourning their deaths. Dying is one of the few things we all have in common.
Hi Brian ~ so glad you've started celebrating people you love when they die. You got there faster than me. My dad died young too, and it was a terrible experience because my grandma had weird religious beliefs. She asked my mom what evil thoughts she had that caused the cancer. Yikes! You can imagine what that did to the family. Thanks for sharing today. It is an uncomfortable topic for a lot of people. {{Hugs}}
I just love reading your sub stack editions, even today’s about death! Why? Your endings bring me back to smiling. Let’s see if I get this right. “The worst place to have a heart attack is playing Charades with your friends, especially if they’re bad guessers.” Now if that doesn’t leave you laughing, you might as well be dead anyway! 😜
It's amazing how a spoonful of humor makes the medicine go down. Ha! We're on our way back to Upper so I'm trying to joke with Stoney a lot -- the old trucker had to fight a massive traffic jam for two hours yesterday because of an accident near Ocala. Death is a touchy subject for sure. It'll Be OK. Take care!
Amen🙏❤️