Hooray for the Fourth of July!

My annual Independence Day Blog

I will celebrate what I consider some of the good news:

•         The Republic is still here (despite what you may hear from some naysayers)
•         I’m still here (a true fact)
•         Carol and the whole family are alive, well, and active to varying degrees
•         Carol and I entered, walked, and completed a 5k on the 4^th (or was it a 4k on the 5^th?) and amazingly did not finish dead last (we were neither dead nor last)
•         Our SIX acres of grass is neatly mowed for the time being (thanks mostly to brother-in-law Jack)
•        My PSA is still at 0.45 and holding
•         Our strawberry crop was great (and tasty)

I pick the 4^th of July time-frame to talk about being thankful because the sun is shining and just about everybody can agree that our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) done good, more or less.

Even with all the social and political bickering, yelling, blaming, and much worse, it seems we all still have the privilege to think what we want to think and say what we want to say out loud (although there are times when silence truly is golden). 

I am hoping to survive to an even riper old age by trying to laugh a lot (so far so good), be kind, look for some of the good things in life (often forgotten), and not blame anybody else for what and who I am. 

axman

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