Until Now

I never thought about it ….until Now…….

And Now I’m STRESSED OUT!!

It’s human nature not to really think about something until you’re affected by it?  Either directly or indirectly.  I’m sure most of us didn’t wake up one day and say “Hey I want to call someone to discuss Life Insurance!”  unless you’re a Life insurance agent.  I didn’t have a will until I had my first child.  Why would you otherwise, right?  My son was born and my wife and I quickly went to the attorney’s office to finalize the will we’d created…… and I’m pretty sure I haven’t looked at it since then.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  I should update it with every changing life event but, like you, I’m just too busy with the day to day.

It’s the same way with our health I’m afraid.  Many of us don’t visit the doctor regularly until we break a limb or something worse.   We are all too busy paying the bills to consider disability or death or our health care.  Those of us blessed enough to live longer lives have more loose ends to tie up and unfortunately a lot of those loose ends fall to our adult children.  Aging in America is challenging and many of us, those who need the care and the family caregivers that have to take care of them, don’t think about the challenges until we are in the middle of it.  I get frequent calls that begin with “I’m just trying to figure all of this out.”  That’s common and understandable.  Who thinks about who is going to provide personal care like help with bathing, dressing, preparing meals or using the bathroom?  It isn’t common conversation at cocktail parties but one of the most important subjects to discuss and plan for.  It’s an extremely personal and sensitive matter that shouldn’t be left to chance.  Someone has to say “Let’s talk about Home Health Care” or “Let’s look for a Home Care Agency, professional caregiver or CNA to take care of us when we are older.”  But most of us hurry along rushing kids to and fro and paying the bills until we are forced to address it.

Intentionality is my favorite word.  I’m becoming more intentional about everything in my life now.  Hindsight is always 20/20 and as I look back to my younger days, I usually would pursue a general goal like “become a manager” and then “become a regional manager” or “have kids” and “pay for college” and I would mix fun in between these “Life Events.”  I’ve come to realize Life events happen every day and often we are Reacting to those life events instead of Designing our lives that bring even more joyful, meaningful Life events.  Design, Intention, Focus, Planning are all operative words that we should pay more attention to.  All my life I have been pretty spontaneous and don’t regret it but as I get older I realize I have to make better use of my time.  I’m growing older along with everyone else here in Raleigh, Wake Forest and Clayton and I want to take control of my future.  Maybe it’s time for you to craft the next 30 years of your life – Plan your retirement; where you will live; who will your estate go to and how will it get there when you pass; will you live in assisted living or have a Professional caregiver/CNA come into your home? Personally I vote for home.  After all, there’s no place like it!

So take a moment right now.  Move to a quiet place and think about what you want the rest of your life to look like.  It doesn’t matter if you are 30, 50, 65 or 80.  We can all design what our lives will look like.  Look at your estate; your will; a living will perhaps; who will have power of attorney if your health declines; and who will your caregiver be?  It’s up to you.  Do it NOW!!

The articles posted on this blog are provided for general information and discussion purposes only.  These articles are not intended to suggest anything with respect to the operations or services of this office.