Kicking the Bucket

I don't remember when I first learned that I was going to die. I was probably a young child at the time, most likely while attending some sort of funerial event. I didn't accept death as a certainty then and, to some extent, do not do so now. Indeed, as Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over until it's over."

Yet, the probability of my demise increases with each passing day. And, my acquiescence to that probability is played out by such knowing actions as writing a will and the annual purchase of long-term care insurance. Even then, I refused total acceptance by purchasing 48 months of care rather than the actuarial 36 months.

Retirement is another form of acceptance of the inevitability of death. It is a signpost along the road of life that one encounters somewhere nearer the end than the beginning. Yet, as I'm finding, retirement can be one of the very best periods of life.

I have no fear of death itself. I was with both my parents at the end of their lives and I can only describe their deaths as serene and welcomed. Indeed, they both outlived their bodies.

My greatest fear of death is the potential for lingering. Hanging around too long is not good for either the living or the dying.

The great problem with death is not always knowing when it will occur with any degree of certainty. You would perhaps live the remainder of your life differently if you knew you had 10 days as opposed to 10 years. Because I don't know, I make the assumption I have only the moment remaining and, at the same time, make unrealistic plans to live forever.

PS: What got me started on this line of thought was the movie "The Bucket List" featuring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two cancer victims with six months to live who set out to do a list of things before they "kick the bucket". The movie is, in my opinion, well worth 97 minutes of the rest of your life.

PPS: I have no bucket list!