AN OCTOGENARIAN’S NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

2024 Reflections: Not So Bad… Really

And another year bites the dust! I’ve had better years, but 2024 wasn’t so bad… really. It’s all relative.

Some health glitches, starting in April with a urinary infection that required the installation of a catheter, which I endured from April 28 to May 7. Ten days. Ugh! But not so bad… really. I was hospitalized at Yreka’s Fairchild Medical Center for six days, then transferred to Providence Hospital in Medford for two more days to be closer to the urologist.

The highlight of the whole thing was the helicopter ride to get me there, at a cost of about $13,000. There weren’t any ambulances available at the time, so the helicopter was the only option, but the ride was fun, even though I was strapped down so tight I could barely breathe. And I had Mercy Flight insurance which paid for it. So, the whole thing wasn’t so bad… really.

There were other problems and medical-related issues during 2024 that, in retrospect, weren’t so bad… really.

I lost too many friends, and went to too many memorial services in 2024. People my age and younger who have passed on, some whom I was very close to. I also visited old friends who are still living whose mental and physical faculties have become diminished with age. This definitely took a toll on my attitude.

There’s an old saying: “Old age ain’t no place for sissies.” For sure I’ve noticed a diminution of my own mental and physical faculties during 2024. But maybe it’s not so bad… really.

My new year’s resolution is to dwell on the positive aspects of life, and not to be derailed by the negative. I was born on June 5, 1942. At that time the life expectancy of a white American male was about 65 years. So… on the bright side… I’m now 82, and I’ve surpassed that by some seventeen years.

And, do you know what’s really cool about life expectancy tables? They keep extending out. So now my life expectancy is to live to 90. If I make it to 90, then it will extend to 94, and so on. Maybe that’s not so bad… really.

So, for the new year I resolve to dwell on the positive. And there’s a lot. Topping the list are my family members: wife, son, daughter, son-in-law, brother, sisters, and grandkids are all healthy and doing well.

And, although neither my body nor brain are functioning quite as efficiently as they once did, they still work well enough that I can do things, although requiring a little more time and effort. Like travel, for instance. We’re heading to Maui in a couple of weeks. Tucson in March. Spain and Portugal in April.

And I can still write. Progress on my fourth novel has slowed down. Writer’s block. Is that age-related? Maybe. But I’ll get it done… slow but sure.

Hey, just writing this, and I’m getting energized! Welcome to 2025. Bring it on! Maybe things aren’t so bad… really.

➡️ Link to Audible

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