- Joined
- Jun 8, 2008
- Messages
- 56,324
I honestly don't know as I'm not there (hopefully!) yet. I would imagine the wish would center around my children or grandchildren but have no way of knowing what their circumstances will be at the time of my death.
As I mature I learn all the things that make me most happy and fulfilled is to lift and brighten others.
Bawling. After last year, I feel this is something we should all consider and talk about. I also feel like if we talked about it, we might be able to help each other live without having regrets at the end.
Non-answer but a story:
My grandfather bought a classic car from his son. They had worked on it a bit together and that car meant a lot to him. I remember him trying to get going on fixing it up here and there through the years before it ended up just sitting. He made a couple of comments to me about it once and then he was having trouble with everything going on in life (COVID, his daughter and her kids living with them, grandma's declining health). We made it a weekly thing to spend the day there working on that car and having dinner together. DH and (sometimes) my cousin out working on that car with my grandfather and me inside spending a day with Grandma and cooking dinner. He was a penny pincher when it came to himself so DH and I quietly ordered parts as they were needed and just showed up with them so he wouldn't get stressed over the money being spent on something just for him. We did that for probably a year or more. Cold winter days he and DH would work on his computer or watch videos on how to rebuild the carburetor or whatever. Our house still isn't unpacked because that one day a week was pretty much the only time we had each week to do much outside of work and care for our animals.
The day after my birthday last year, we were all together celebrating my birthday on our usual day to spend together. My grandfather was in a lot of pain, but the doctors all said it was just getting old. I insisted his blood work was BAD and his symptoms were emergency territory. That was the last time I saw him okay. The next day, he went to urgent care. Then emergency surgery and hospice. He and my mom talked a lot as she was the only one allowed in the hospital with him. His one regret in life? He would never get to see that car run. DH and I dropped everything. I had parts overnighted. We were at his house for 10-14 hours a day most of the time. He was able to come home on hospice and could barely stand even with help. I have a picture of him standing leaning in an open hood looking as the final bits were adjusted before attempting to start. I have video of him and grandma grinning and grandma's happy dance sitting on her walker as the car starts up and idles for the first time in decades. We kept pushing. Nothing else mattered except being there to help him and grandma and getting that car to just back down the driveway for him. I posted a desperate plea on Easter Sunday as the wheels didn't fit over the new brakes he had wanted. I picked up a set of irreplaceable wheels/tires taken off a Corvette to see if they would work. I had a line of people driving up with sets of wheels/tires to find some that would work. We ended up with the fronts off our pickup and the rears off another car.
We did it. Just a few days before he passed, he got to go for a ride in his car. Even before then, he told me how special it was that we were out there doing this. After his ride, I told him about the community coming together to find those wheels/tires for him. I almost never saw him cry but there were definite tears as he heard about all the people who cared.
This almost didn't happen. Most of the people in my family didn't care. Some thought he wasn't interested since he had talked about possibly selling it. It had been put off so much that many assumed it was just a tinker thing and unimportant. He very nearly died without ever getting to see that car run because he never spoke up.
Is it selfish to say that when my time’s up, I just want to die quickly and as painlessly as possible?
Man, this thread has been nagging at me. My mom died unexpectedly the morning after Christmas (this past year, 2022). I was back home for the holidays and we were supposed to meet with her and other family for breakfast before we headed out. She was very excited about it so I found it odd she missed. Afterwards, on the way out of town while filling up with gas I sent her a text telling her I loved her and was sorry we missed each other but we would catch her on our next trip. Later I would learn that would be my last text.
We had made it about 1/3 way back when I got a call from my aunt who was sobbing uncontrollably. Before she said the words I knew. I normally do decent with this sort of thing but I was numb. My wife encouraged me to pull over at a rest stop. It’s one of the handful of times in my life I broke down and felt I didn’t have the answers. I gathered myself, we turned around, went back and handled all the funeral arrangements, etc.
What seems abnormal to me is our relationship was difficult and strained for much of the time. My grandparents actually raised me. Despite her shortcomings she always loved me and was very proud of the things I’ve done and person I’ve become. In many ways she got me in ways that others didn’t. I’ve been through some hell and she was one of the few that checked on me. She never held judgment against me and was always on my side, even if she didn’t fully understand the details or situation.
Some things had happened that made me stop talking to her. Of course, she was too big of a pain in the ass to let that happen, lol. She would talk to me anyways. After some encouragement from my wife, I had recently started the repair process. About a month before I had sent her an message apologizing and forgiving her for her part and asking the same.
If I could wish for something on her behalf I want that breakfast, time, conversations and hugs with her just to reaffirm we were at a good place with each other.
Bawling. After last year, I feel this is something we should all consider and talk about. I also feel like if we talked about it, we might be able to help each other live without having regrets at the end.
Non-answer but a story:
My grandfather bought a classic car from his son. They had worked on it a bit together and that car meant a lot to him. I remember him trying to get going on fixing it up here and there through the years before it ended up just sitting. He made a couple of comments to me about it once and then he was having trouble with everything going on in life (COVID, his daughter and her kids living with them, grandma's declining health). We made it a weekly thing to spend the day there working on that car and having dinner together. DH and (sometimes) my cousin out working on that car with my grandfather and me inside spending a day with Grandma and cooking dinner. He was a penny pincher when it came to himself so DH and I quietly ordered parts as they were needed and just showed up with them so he wouldn't get stressed over the money being spent on something just for him. We did that for probably a year or more. Cold winter days he and DH would work on his computer or watch videos on how to rebuild the carburetor or whatever. Our house still isn't unpacked because that one day a week was pretty much the only time we had each week to do much outside of work and care for our animals.
The day after my birthday last year, we were all together celebrating my birthday on our usual day to spend together. My grandfather was in a lot of pain, but the doctors all said it was just getting old. I insisted his blood work was BAD and his symptoms were emergency territory. That was the last time I saw him okay. The next day, he went to urgent care. Then emergency surgery and hospice. He and my mom talked a lot as she was the only one allowed in the hospital with him. His one regret in life? He would never get to see that car run. DH and I dropped everything. I had parts overnighted. We were at his house for 10-14 hours a day most of the time. He was able to come home on hospice and could barely stand even with help. I have a picture of him standing leaning in an open hood looking as the final bits were adjusted before attempting to start. I have video of him and grandma grinning and grandma's happy dance sitting on her walker as the car starts up and idles for the first time in decades. We kept pushing. Nothing else mattered except being there to help him and grandma and getting that car to just back down the driveway for him. I posted a desperate plea on Easter Sunday as the wheels didn't fit over the new brakes he had wanted. I picked up a set of irreplaceable wheels/tires taken off a Corvette to see if they would work. I had a line of people driving up with sets of wheels/tires to find some that would work. We ended up with the fronts off our pickup and the rears off another car.
We did it. Just a few days before he passed, he got to go for a ride in his car. Even before then, he told me how special it was that we were out there doing this. After his ride, I told him about the community coming together to find those wheels/tires for him. I almost never saw him cry but there were definite tears as he heard about all the people who cared.
This almost didn't happen. Most of the people in my family didn't care. Some thought he wasn't interested since he had talked about possibly selling it. It had been put off so much that many assumed it was just a tinker thing and unimportant. He very nearly died without ever getting to see that car run because he never spoke up.
Is it selfish to say that when my time’s up, I just want to die quickly and as painlessly as possible?
I'd want my husband back to care for me in my last days as lovingly as I cared for him.
maybe a new Bruce Springtseen album then
Not a new album but by chance do you have AppleTV? In 2020 they released a documentary called Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You.
You might enjoy if you haven’t already seen it.
A tribute to The E Street Band, rock ‘n’ roll, and the way music has shaped Bruce Springsteen’s life, this documentary captures Bruce reflecting on love and loss while recording with his full band live in the studio for the first time since Born in the U.S.A.