Last night, my wife and I impatiently hung around the Edgewater Casino gambling floor, way beyond our bedtimes, as we had committed to providing my great-nephew Danny a free room for 3 nights, as he and his wife flew in from Jacksonville, NC, where he is stationed in the Marine Corps. He dropped out of high school, a fragment thrown off of his parents' divorce, this in Kansas. His Dad, my nephew Dan, finally convinced Danny Jr. to get his GED, join the Marines. That similar act had made a man of my older nephew Dan in the 1960s. I myself am fraught with the fear I will be gone, by the time Danny retires from the Corps., perhaps 10 years from now. Danny has rather "adopted" me as a real, first uncle. He expresses desire to live here close to us. May be transferred to the California area in a year. How can I reconcile with him that I am likely not to be living when he becomes an ex-Marine? So much hinges upon this it scares me beyond belief. So much of what I am will become a part of him. I had no kids, but love this one, who is 35, as though he were mine. I feel guilty as his real father, my older nephew, grew up with me. Frank
@Frank Sanoica, this is not in any way meant to intrude into your attitude. But I would like to remind you that our life is not in our hands and my belief is that only God knows when we shall go. Age is a number and although it is used as a standard measure of longevity, we still cannot say that we are old because we are already 80 or 90 maybe. In one thread that I had created, it was about the great uncle of my husband who had celebrated his 103rd birthday last month. And what's good in him is that he looks hale and hearty... and still smoking. My husband and I always agree to the saying that let's enjoy life while we still have it. Yeah, leave the worrying to the wind and never think of the day you would die. You will just make yourself lonely with that thought.
I have to say I agree with Corrie. Saying you will be gone in 10 years, sounds a bit pessimistic Frank, we never know what will befall us in the future, Taking each day as it comes and trying to enjoy it , is all we can really do. I think worrying about what will be and what we can't control is too heavy a burden to carry.
I agree with everyone, Frank. Let your nephew move near you if that's what he wants. I'm sure he knows you won't live forever. It's even possible that he may die before you, anything can happen and I wouldn't worry about that aspect of it. Enjoy the time you do share...that's all any of us can do.
@K E Gordon "I think worrying about what will be and what we can't control is too heavy a burden to carry." It is. I shall take that advice to heart! Frank