I want to live my life to the fullest.  I don’t know how many chances I get to get it right – maybe there is only one – but I know that time is drawing short.  My mother and her mother both died of cancer at 74.  That is a short ten years away for me (I know I look much younger!) and I have cancer and heart disease in my background (and I should lose some weight).  But my big plan is to do as many things as possible in the time left to me – no matter how long that is. Maybe I will live to be 174.

            My husband thinks I should quit saying that my mother and grandmother died young or it might make my longevity shorter.  But to me it serves as a reminder that I should get moving.  I have tons of stories still in my head that are not written down.  I want to take that train trip down the west coast of the United States in the spring, and I want to watch my children as they live their lives.  Maybe I’ll be given the chance. Maybe not.  But I will try.

            A doctor friend of mine from High School has been putting out Facebook posts to the “Class of ‘71” about Medicare lately.  We are all turning 65 this year.  Some already have.  It is a milestone and I am grateful for the information.  I have a lot to learn.  And that is a good thing.  I have always had a life-long thirst for learning and I will find the answers to that tangled web of bureaucracy we call Medicare.  I might not like the answers I find, but I’ll find them.

            Living under the threat of nuclear war again makes me even more determined to find things I love and take part in them.  I am planning trips, books, and good times with friends and family. I will drink that bottle of wine because it tastes so good.

            I’m having lunch with a friend from high school this week.  We are celebrating our birthdays six months late – or six months early. Whatever. 

            I’m going to a Monday afternoon matinee with a friend from work to see a new movie.  That’s something only retirees can do in the middle of the work week.

            My daughter invited me to a wedding in Dallas in September and I said, “why not?” That means I’ll need a new dress. Darn!

            Time could be short, but I will participate in all I can. 

            What are you doing about living your life?