1:38 p.m. - 2005-05-27
If you only had a year to live...
My sister-in-law who just visited asked me where I would like to go visit and what would I like to do if I could. You know, I couldn't think of any place special. I had talked to one of my sisters at one time when she said she wanted to visit Ireland and wanted me to go along. Of course, we don't know when or "if" that will ever happen. She and another of my sisters have talked about going on a cruise together (all 3 in a double room or suite on a cruise ship) ..that may never happen either. My sister-in-law has Huntington's Disease which is a terminal condition. She is doing very well right now. She is still mobile, her speech is starting to slur and her voice is softer but she gets around. She wants to go to Africa, she wants to participate in an archeological dig somewhere in the Holy Land. She has visited some places where Noah was supposed to have been. She has become more interested in Bibical history. She has traveled quite a bit over the world when her husband was in the Navy. She has walked the Great Wall of China. She has been to Baghdad, Jordan, some of the palaces there. She loved to travel and see things. She has been to Italy. I know she wants to do as much as she still can while she still can.
Two friends of ours have been diagnosed with brain cancer. One had lung cancer last year and went through all the chemo and radiation and then got brain cancer. He is spending as much time as possible with his grown children and his grandchildren. He gets tired easily so his wife has taken over the yard work. Fortunately they are both retired so they do have time to be at home. He has good and bad days.
The other friend just got diagnosed 2 weeks ago. He's in the decision making period now on what he should do, if anything. He has never been married and has only a brother and sister so he is going to talk to them and then decide. He was told if the tumor is malignant, he would have about a year doing all the chemo and radiation. If it is benign, he should have the chemo anyway and might have 3 to 5 years depending on the future.
That got making me to thinking. What would I do if I had only a year left to live? I would retire, I would spend about a month with both of my sisters. I have another sister who has estranged herself from us. She lives in Chicago. I think I would call her and tell her my life is based on time and try to spend a month with her too. If she refused, I guess I would finally cut my ties with her. I have always tried to keep her in my life but she has problems and often cuts her ties with us. It's been about 1-1/2 years this time.
Then I would read as much as I could. I would hire a place to cook all the meals and deliver to me. When it was getting down to the last few months, I would have my husband take a leave of absense and we would rent a place by the ocean,(Probably the Pacific) and stay there as long as we could.
What would you do? I would like to hear from anyone who has an idea.
