Life Expectancy

 I got thinking the other day about how old I am (74) and wondered, statistically speaking, how much longer I might expect to live. It seems life expectancy ages dropped a bit during Covid, but are more back to normal this year. That means I might expect to live to be around 81. That's seven more years. Good lord, when you think of it that way, it's a little shocking. You always think you have another decade or two left. Of course, that's based on averages and includes sick people and others who die much younger. My mom, for example lived to be 91. My dad lived to 90. But none of us knows what lies ahead and how much time we have.

Along that vein, I progressed to thinking about how I spend my time, especially now that I may have precious little of it left. Things really are coming into focus for me. I know with more certainty what I want to do more of and what I don't want to do at all.

I'm looking at everything I do, and judging whether it's worth some of my limited remaining time or not. It's okay to waste time, because rest and relaxation are valuable, too. But I'm sure not going to waste any more time on things that don't bring happiness to me or my loved ones, or things that cause worry but that I can't change. It has to all be about quality now since the quantity of life is getting short.

Today, I wrote a much longer, more detailed plan in my private blog listing specific things I will do more, or less, or not at all. It helps me to realize how much time I've wasted on futile efforts. But no more. Some of the things I will do the same or even more of are cooking and baking, birding, music, gardening, entertaining my family, enjoying my little dog. Things I will cut back on are home decorating, watching TV news, watching TV in general, and worrying about the state of the world.

From here on out, life expectancy for me means getting what I expect from the rest of my life.