My granddaughter came in from school and told us one of her classmate's father died yesterday...heart attack, he was 41, she was rather upset.

Ronnie - that is so sad. I can understand why your granddaughter was upset. I imagine the whole class is.....

That's very sad Ronnie, way too young to die like that.

Things can change in the blink of an eye.

As I age, I try to remember to live life meaningfully. I don't mean "whooping"' it up..or travel..or filling days with activity necessarily...but do something each day that I want to do...not all "have to " dos.

read a book that I want..
Take a class..touch base with folks that I want to...ditch the toxic... waste a little money on something silly, help a friend, not the life BIG BUCKET list ...but a small little pot ..that is filled with little everyday somethings.

I saw a post on FB where they're talking about seniors having a choice of living on cruise ships instead of nursing homes (both are expensive, of course)...I think the real choice would be cruise ships vs. assisted living facilities, but I can't imagine wanting that. A small cramped cabin, cruise employees that aren't properly screened, no family around, just strangers...and those horror stories about norovirus outbreaks or cruise ships that break down, leaving passengers enduring bad conditions. Not to mention that any serious medical problem, you'd have to be moved to a real medical facility...the cruise ship doctor can't handle much. Not my cup of tea...besides, I've got furbabies and plants!

That wouldn't be appealing to me, but I don't like cruises. I did read about one wealthy woman who cruised all of her life, and when her husband died, she sold everything and moved onto a cruise ship. She does jump off once in a while when they are in ports, and goes to visit her relatives. Then she rejoins the ship later on. She was good friends with the crew and loves her life.

Yeah, Karen - I read about the lady who retired to a cruise ship, too. She says it costs less than a retirement home.

That could very well be! My mom was in several different places and the cheapest one was $6K a month. It had very poor care and poor food.

Assisted living can also involve small cramped and shared rooms..unvetted caregivers, strangers, viral and bacterial outbreaks and shipping off to a medical facility.. and no locked doors! The food is better on the cruise too!

But you can't get off anytime you want to !!!

A cruise ship is like a small town........ it has everything on it. If you need extreme health care, they fly a helicopter in to take you to a hospital. They have to have some way to fly on and off the ship

We went on several cruises and I enjoyed them, however, I like to have the good solid earth beneath my feet if possible! I read about that lady, too, however, I don't envy her.

I saw that facebook video..but not sure it is for real

rocklady said:We went on several cruises and I enjoyed them, however, I like to have the good solid earth beneath my feet if possible! I read about that lady, too, however, I don't envy her.

I don't envy her either. I agree I need to have solid ground beneath me and be able to grow my plants. A stateroom wouldn't have much room for plants!

My father died on Thanksgiving some years ago. It was a semi-suicide brought on by mistreatment by other family members. In my better moods I cheerfully think of it as him ruining one last holiday with his death but today I'm not in a cheerful mood. Holidays are beginning and so is my traditional holiday depression.
The last few years I've been able to deal with it by keeping active but I am now barely able to move, even with pain killers which the US gov. has now made it very difficult for me to get.

I'm having to say goodbye to Sugar, whom I took in as a small puppy about six months ago. She is just too much for me to handle. She'll go to a good home.

Wish I could stop crying. I guess the good news is that I don't want to die, no risk of suicide. I just wish I felt better.

katie

Katie I wish I could be there in person, to give you a great big ole hug, and to listen to you talk and cheer you up as much as is possible.
I'm sad that you have to give up Sugar - a bouncy puppy would be good therapy for you, but one that you can't handle isn't good for you either crying right along with you.
prayers & hugs for you, Katie dear

Thanks, Susan. The worst if over. hugs, katie

Katie I wish there was something I could say that would help. I'm sorry you are sad, holidays are hard for so many. I will say a prayer for you and hope you can find some comfort. I know sometimes just posting here helps.
Please let us know how you are doing.

Hey Katie,
You are going to be so happy you made the right decision for sugar after you get over the hard decision

I am sorry that the holidays hold some sad and bad memories for you. You need to make some good ones!

You have had many holidays to learn your coping skills ..maybe can't joyous but you have learned to manage it and that is good.

Holidays are not all they are cracked up to be because many times they remind us of loss and unfullfilled wishes .. I wish it could be different but I guess we don't get to write the story of our lives. Remember YOU have a lot of friends here and of course your super wonderful helpers there.

Katie I am sorry that you had to re-home Sugar and the holidays make you sad, hopefully tomorrow will be a brighter day for you.

to @Katiebear and for brighter days ahead because they do exist. This I know is true.