Pandemic Lessons Learned

This pandemic has taught me two critical lessons over the past 6 months. The first is that life is fragile. The second, you are guaranteed NOTHING while on this planet. So, whatever it is that you hope to do before you leave this world, you need to get out there and do it! 

These two realities were brought to light most recently upon the passing of my father-in-law. After fighting a battle with COPD for almost 20 years and being cared for by my husband these last 3 years, we said goodbye to him on August 8th. COVID played no part in his death. We had taken every precaution to protect him from exposure and essentially quarantined ourselves since the pandemic began. In the end, it was his heart and the disease that took him from us. Life is fragile. 

Throughout the life of my father-in-law, he had worked hard and managed his finances. He spent many of his last years on a large property in Missouri where he had built a pond, complete with a dock so that he could fish whenever he wanted to. The man LOVED to fish and talked about that property often. He had to sell it a couple years before he came to live with us. His health was declining and his wife, Pat, wanted them closer to a hospital in the event of an emergency. They moved to Harrisonville, MO and that was really the beginning of the end. There would be no more fishing from that point on. You are guaranteed NOTHING while on this planet, not even the joy of throwing a line in the water when the mood strikes you. 

So now what? My husband and I are living a different life. Its not driven by a care-giver's schedule. There are not doctor appointments or Hospice workers coming in to provide support. There are no special meals to make or multiple loads of laundry to do. Life is different. We are like empty nesters again. Now we take the lessons and figure out the next chapter. We are calling it...OUR ADVENTURE.