The Good Years

OK, OK, all years are good years (if you really want them to be). 

Just about everybody has plans for retirement and the golden years. But by the time retirement comes around nobody knows for sure what mental and physical condition they'll be in. Some people golf, play tennis, and compete in Iron-man competitions year after year (show-offs). Some have physical problems and may need a walker, cane, or even a wheel chair. Strokes and other conditions can affect speech and memory. Others have diseases like

Parkinson's, diabetes, MS, or cancer. You can't know for sure how these diseases will progress--and reality can change rapidly. None of these conditions will necessarily determine whether or not you're positive and happy.

When my wife and I retired she already had type II diabetes and I, of course, had prostate cancer. We had very little idea of what might actually happen in the future. Both of us have benefited from advances in medical science but not so much from the advances in medical costs. So far we have been able to do everything we hoped to do in retirement (as long as we work around the doctor appointments). We're told that our increasing aches and pains, slower movements, and memory lapses are normal for our age. Who defines 'normal?'

I am reluctant to share this, but it seems the busier we are the better we feel. So much for laying around and being lazy (all the time). It appears all this activity really is good for me--or so says my wife (who is the world champion maker of to-do lists). I encourage you to be as active and busy as you can. These really are the good years--I think.

axman

Birthday Blog--2013

Every year I write a Birthday Blog to celebrate still being around. This is a Blog and it is my Birthday, so...

This year is the tenth anniversary, to the week, of my prostate cancer diagnosis. My ten year report includes:

1. Being alive--with medical data to prove it
2. Staying active, more or less, as long as I get my daily nap
3. Financially supporting both the medical and drug industries
4. Still writing blogs and the occasional book--which works best when I can remember the words and how to spell them
5. having less hair, more aches and pains, and a foggier memory

The good news is there is an ever increasing number of new prostate cancer treatments and medications. One by one they have helped me keep going. Most of them worked for a while--until they didn't.

The less good news, of course, is that none of the new meds or treatments will cure me or anybody else.

The end (of the Blog, not me)--for now.

Addendum: It amazes me how fast ten years has passed. The next ten years will likely pass even faster. So I'm going to start my Birthday Blog 2023 tomorrow.

axman