spending it while we can

pollypenny

We have thought about often. We have had two friends killed in climbing accidents, on separate occasions, and a friend die within 3 months from cancer.


Neither of OH's parents made old bones, which is why I retired at 60.

Whilst we will never waste money, we are going to enjoy life while we can.

Errata

pollypenny wrote: »

Whilst we will never waste money, we are going to enjoy life while we can.

That's what life's for, and it's the only one we get. Don't count the years, enjoy the days.:)

John_Pierpoint

Sorry to rain on everyone's parade:

Certain governments realised that they had a unique position as a reserve currency. This enabled them to create the trick of printing money, multiplying it up through the banking system to import "stuff" for its own consumption.

This is the reality of what has become of our nation's position in the last 100 years. Note how much of it has "escaped" to tax havens from countries who have nationalised 50% of their GDP through taxation.

Have we all noticed that so much of the massive tax gap is now being financed by printed money, that no stable institution needs to borrow our savings and in reality we are being "taxed by inflation".
All these bits of paper have a promise to pay on them, and our double income children's households are going to have to deliver something to redeem these pledges.

I don't think much of this money feels it owes our nation a debt of gratitude if and when its citizens fail to pay their own way in the global economy.

There really are no signs of improvement in the direction of the 100 year sell off of our national wealth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_net_international_investment_position_per_capita

"Spend it while we can..." does indeed seem to have been the philosophy of the world's major creator of money. Just how long are they going to be able to maintain this trick?
What will happen to us if China finds a way of not supporting USA as their favourite charity?

iris

kittie wrote: »

That is so sad Margaret, too young.

I never really though about death Iris, not until my very fit husband was diagnosed with heart failure and 40% left ventricle efficiency. He regularly cycles 70 miles and feels really good in himself. Specialist thinks it was a virus that did it, anyway he has asthma and mild copd. Difference between fit and healthy, I am healthy and not fit and he is the other way around. It was so stressful and stomach churning to hear this out of the blue, no time to slowly take it in. We updated our wills the next day and have come to terms with the fact that death is what we are certain of in this life. We live in the moment now. He now takes meds and his heart is very slowly improving but we do not take a minute for-granted anymore and we have become very tolerant of other people and am so grateful to live in a quiet and pleasant little village, with no hustle and bustle

So sorry to hear about your DH, you both must have been devastated when you heard the news.

I never thought about the difference between fit and healthy. I am healthy (as far as I know) in that I don't take any medication, however I am only average fitness and a bit overweight. My DH is fit and healthy and not overweight. He used to be in the construction industry and still does all his own DIY - next year he is refurbishing our kitchen completely, which entails knocking our kitchen and utility into one. He also thinks nothing of going up onto our roof to make any necessary repairs, although it is a bungalow.


As you say Kittie, nothing in this life is certain.


Kittie, do you live in the Bristol area? We used to live in a village called Wrington. Do you know it?

Goldiegirl

Sorry to hear your news Margaretclaire.

Over the last few years a couple of people that I've known, same age as me, have died.

It really brings it home that life is precious, and should be enjoyed, on a daily basis.

DigForVictory

Likewise sorry Margaretclaire.

Heard this weekend my mother has a lung disease - which when I googled it, goes into drugs, oxygen & Quality of Life. On every site.

So I think I want to persuade her to try to cast off the War Baby mental shackles & go out & have wonderful times. She's not on oxygen yet, so I hope she'll only be restrained by her imagination!

margaretclare

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

Actually, I suppose in an earlier generation, DH and his cousin would both have been considered to have outlived their allotted span! His cousin would have been 78 in January, a year younger than DH. The treatment he has had in the Lister Unit at Northwick Park Hospital really gives the lie to what is sometimes heard: 'oh they don't bother about older people, they want us all to die off, save us money on keeping them alive'. Cousin has had the most extensive and aggressive courses of chemotherapy over 3 years and it must have cost an absolute fortune. He was 'in remission' for just a few months in all that time, and it's not so very long ago that we were told 'it has all come back'.

I got my head in my hands early on when I suggested that they should contact the Macmillan organisation for help, support etc. His wife really had a go at me. 'All she wanted/needed was the family, she didn't want any outside help, didn't want anyone telling her what to do' etc. I shut up after that, and any time we went to see them, I said very little. Now, it's the family that have to cope with her! It was one of the sons who phoned yesterday afternoon, was doing all the phoning round etc and he broke down and cried on the phone. They have funerals very quickly, cousin died on Saturday evening, buried Monday afternoon. His widow is staying at son's house. Widowhood is not something I'd wish on my worst enemy, been there once, but really, the poor man had no life, going through all that painful and debilitating treatment and, realistically, it was all only going to have one end. Mercifully, we're told, he went downhill very quickly at the end, and for that, one can only thank whatever God one believes in.

Errata

Realistically, people die in their 70s, 80s and 90s. Everyone's life is precious to them and only they can judge if they have 'quality of life' or not. What may seem unbearable treatment to others can be quite difficult but bearable to the person with a terminal illness.
Carpe diem.

terrierlady

i think on our birth date we are allocated a return ticket....enjoy each day as your last, spend what you feel ok with, go where you have always longed to go and dont think about the due date.

margaretclare

terrierlady wrote: »

i think on our birth date we are allocated a return ticket....enjoy each day as your last, spend what you feel ok with, go where you have always longed to go and dont think about the due date.

A good way of putting it.

DH came back from the funeral yesterday and he was very saddened, not only by the funeral itself but by the fact that no one had bothered to tell him when it was apparent that the final attempts at treatment weren't working. He'd have liked to see cousin again - they'd grown up together and had been like brothers: DH's own brother is much younger so these 2 young guys did the usual things that young guys always do and did in those days. They swam, ran, cycled, ogled girls, ate sausage sandwiches (non-kosher!) together. DH said he would have liked to say that at the funeral, that he was one of the few people who remembered the deceased not as a devoted father/grandfather and family man, but how he'd been when young. No one else remembered. He said that at the graveside. 'We grew up together, we were like brothers, God rest you, rest in peace'.

I'm glad I didn't go. I'd have felt like a complete fish out of water. I expected he'd go along to some kind of get-together afterwards but, if there was one, he chose not to go, and came straight home. About 10 minutes in the prayer room, the eldest son tried to deliver an eulogy (poor guy!) and then, straight to the grave and by the time everyone got there, the coffin was already in the grave. No messing. Not much ceremony. DH just stood there at the head of the grave and said those words, while the 'close family' were busy filling in earth from a wheelbarrow.

He'd been so sure that they'd phone if there was any change. I kept saying we should phone, but he said 'no, they will' but no one did, until it was too late. We don't even know if he died in hospital, or if he'd been sent home to die, or what. There were something like 40-50 people at the funeral and yet, we'd visited a lot of times when no one else did. I'm trying to prevent DH from becoming bitter, because bitterness solves nothing and is so destructive. We've been to funerals in the Christian tradition which have been full of joy, jokes told about what the person had done/said, a celebration of life. I'm just glad I didn't go.