I was thinking of my grandma’s death as the rest of my family got together to commemorate one year of her passing over the weekend. I was sad not to be there, but then my father wrote that we each have our calling, and we’re “doing exactly the right thing.” It made me smile as that’s the perspective my grandma would have had.

Congratulations on getting your will in order and making arrangements so that your loved ones can focus on spending time with you instead of worrying about logistics and arrangements. Some people find this morbid, but I think that getting this behind you allows you to think more about life.

Thank you for sharing your story and I that you are working through the pain from your loss.

Was watching Indiana Jones earlier this year and a quote that really resonated was one where Jones tells his colleague that “we’re all getting to the age where life takes more than she gives.”

This is also one of the reasons why I strive to keep life a little more balanced. It can be easy to neglect emotional and family responsibilities for the sake of my own life dreams.

My sincere condolences and thanks for sharing your deeply personal story.

@Rosie: With family getting older, it’s easy to fall into the routine of talking about present health issues instead of asking those questions about the past or unique experiences in that life. I hope you had a good chat with your father and find more opportunities for those special moments with your father.