The other is "May you live as long as you want to and want to as long as you live". I like that one as it gives a person some agency. My Mom's youngest cousin on her mother's side battled cancer until she got tired of it and opted for MAID at 89.
My maternal grandfather died at 83 of a heart attack; my mother at 81 of same. I have no cardiac problems at all (touch wood).
My maternal grandfather died at 90 of old age. Went to sleep and didn't wake up. My maternal grandmother died at 95 but the last 5 to10 years were not kind to her as she had extreme dementia. I worry about that. The bag has a hole in it and my marbles are falling out. I have an appointment with a gerentologist to determine how many I have left.
In the scheme of things, I have lived a long time. Perhaps I will see 90, perhaps more but will settle for 90. I have seen a great deal as has anyone my age that didn't stay home. I cannot count how often I moved after I left home at 17. Friends of mine have seen far more countires than I have but I needed someone to pay my way.
In Ukraine one of my favourite walks was through the cemetery a few blocks north of us. Most men died in their 60s. Only women, no men that I found, lived to their 90s. I used to think about what a Ukrainian woman born in 1903 saw in her 90 year lifetime and wondered how they lived through it. "You can be born in the Austro-Hungarian empire, educated in Poland, married under the Third Reich, work and retire in the USSR and draw your pension in Ukraine and never have left L'viv".
Now I look back at my life and am thankful for all I have seen and done. Who knows where the time goes?
Pop, glad you made it to 78. Hope to see you at 90 as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I hope so too
DeleteHappy Birthday! You come from long-lived stock so that's a good sign. Don't just plan on making 90 -- aim for 100! Go for it!
ReplyDelete