It’s Christmas time: the annual rite of exchanging gifts with my adult children; trying to decide what I should buy for them. Should I buy clothes – but will they be the right style and size? Or I could buy a trendy gadget – but will it just be stored away with all the other unused gadgets? Or I could again go to my fallback position: an Amazon gift card! I have no idea. My kids don’t make Christmas lists anymore!
As I struggle to find that perfect gift, I am reminded of a class Lucille Torgerson taught many years ago. She passionately felt at her age the best gift she could give her children was to have all her affairs in order for when she passed away.
That may sound morbid during this holiday season: death is not something I like to talk about or even think about. I’m hoping it won’t happen to me in my lifetime! But knowing that it won’t just disappear even if I wish on a shooting star or do everything right, it is something I should prepare for.
But how do we prepare?
One resource is “Getting Your Affairs in Order Checklist: Documents to Prepare for the Future” a website by the National Institute on Aging. You can even sign up for a weekly email series on advance care planning.
Another helpful resource that I learned about at the Aging Mastery book club that meets at the Hood River Valley Adult Center is the book, I’m Dead. Now What. Now don’t be turned off by the title! It is a practical book with tabbed pages to gather and record the details someone, most likely your spouse or your children, will have to manage when you die: medical and financial information, personal property, insurance, what accounts to pay, close or cancel, your usernames and passwords, and even how to take care of your pets for example.
When you leave this earth, it should be a time to celebrate your life, a time to share favorite memories, a time to laugh, and a time to cry – not a time for your children to worry about how to take care of your affairs.
I hope you see that having your affairs in order makes sense and would be a wonderful gift for your children. But if you also believe it just might not be a suitable Christmas gift this year, when you do go shopping for that perfect gift, don’t forget to Shop Local!
Brain Tease: Another silly Christmas riddle which may be waaaay too easy.
Can you decipher this: Christmasdaydaydaydaydaydaydaydaydaydaydayday
The name of this weekly educational newspaper that described current events was My Weekly Reader. I received correct answers from Steven Woolpert, Ruth Tsu, Jim Kirby, Judy Kiser, Doug Nelson, Dave Lutgens, Pat Evenson Brady, Jay Waterbury, Bruce Johnson, Kim Birge, Donna Mollet, Rose Schulz, Nancy Higgins, Eileen White, Lana Tepfer – who remembers reading National Scholastic in California, and this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket Sara Ballingson. And last week I missed Craig Terry.
I want to thank everyone who sent in names of other stamp brands they remembered: Blue Chip Stamps, Plaid Stamps, and Gold Stamps – the stamps I had forgotten.
In one of our discussions around the breakfast table, my wife mentioned this TV western which she said was one of her favorites, but I couldn’t remember. See if you can.
For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the name of the TV series that ran from 1965 through 1969, conceived as “James Bond on horseback” that followed Secret Service agents, the fearless and handsome James West (Robert Conrad), and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin), a brilliant gadgeteer and master of disguise? Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or send it with an exploding pocket watch or a blow torch disguised as a cigar.
Well, it’s been another week looking for the silver lining in that old winter coat of mine. Until we meet again, life isn’t fun if you think you’re too clever to appreciate the simple things.
“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” Maya Angelou
Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) – Mondays and Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Townhall (541-308-5997) – Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).
For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
Answers: The 12 Days of Christmas
