Yesterday, we went to a family reunion and birthday party for Gramma; she will be 105 in about a week. She is doing amazingly well; she has some trouble hearing, which she finds frustrating, but her mind is as sharp as ever. Still - at 105 - she knows that her time is running out; she's surprised that she's lasted this long. She doesn't necessarily expect to wake up when she goes to sleep each night, and one of these days, she won't. She's very matter-of-fact about that. She has come to terms with the eventuality of death; she has an understanding of it that I am not able to accept.
I've mentioned before that the concept of mortality has begun to slap me around a bit; yet, when I look at Gramma, I'm faced with the fact that I'm only a little bit more than half-way to her age. There's no guarantee I've got her life expectancy, of course; but neither can I focus on the possibility of dying for the next 52 (or more!) years. It's still time for me to work on being alive.
I may grow hard of hearing; I may not be able to do the things I can do today at some time in the future, but I can do them now.
105 years and counting.
2 comments:
She's so beautiful - and so are you. It's so wonderful that she's been here so long. I hope that you will be able to concentrate on the living still to come... and dance. :) You helped me to find some of that today.
Thank you! That's my plan - I get sidetracked sometimes, but I'm working on keeping my focus in the right place. Dancing is one of the most important things!
Post a Comment