The Final Passage:  It will happen to all of us at a different time and in a different way.  The death experience will be different for each one of us the experience will be as individual as we are.  It will be our own personal journey whether sudden or prolonged in nature.  We will experience others deaths prior to our own I think this is life’s way of preparing one for what’s to come.  When we are young we lose a pet, as we age we lose great grandparents, then grandparents, then parents, friends and significant others then our own death.  This would be if the lifespan journey was one of sequential living but we all know life is not about order it is about random chaos that we manage day to day.  I do not mean this in a negative way, just think about it?  We wake up and have our day planned.  How many days truly go as planned or follow that perfect schedule we set for ourselves, not many.  Life has a way of happening whether we are ready or not and death is part of life.  Sudden death I feel is the hardest to cope with.  As people I think closure is important and a sudden death it is hard to fulfill the need for that.  Being able to prepare for someone’s death there is time to celebrate them, love them say what needs to be said.  This does not make death any less difficult but I do believe that it allows all involved to grieve with the person whom is passing and allows for more preparation and healing too begin.  The loss of a loved one is and will always be the hardest thing to cope with in life because of its finality, but it is part of life that no one escapes, it is just another part of this journey we call life.

Blogging for this class really made me think about each chapter that was studied.  By writing down thoughts and feelings applied to the materials helps make it more applicable to the life-span we are living past, present and future.  Wishing the best to all of you, happy summer!   

 

Week 9

 Memory:  Can you imagine a life without memories?  I can’t, I love to reminisce about years past.  But, as you get older just trying to pull out a word to say or remember why you went to the store because you forgot the shopping list and can’t remember what was on it can be frustrating.  Semantic memory: I feel I fight with this all the time.  I know what word I want to say, or the meaning of a word I want to use but I just cannot find the vocabulary.   I work with the elderly and this is a constant with them.  How about when you try to remember something; but can’t, and then remember it hours later, or in the middle of the night happens more and more as you get older. 

 When you think about it all we are, are memories. The stories that we tell or the stories that are told about us, the family vacations, holidays, your  high school days, your wedding day the day your children were born all we have is the memory of that moment in time.  As we age those memories are not as clear or are forgotten.  Although, there are some of the aging populations that are a sharp as a tack (as they say) till the end, most memories are not clear or cannot be expressed or remembered at all.  This is very sad too me because anything in our past is just that… a memory.       

Blog 8

 

This week’s reading was like reading about myself, some of it past and present.  I have had three careers in my life so far a teacher, stay at home mom or as I called it executive manager of many lives, and a real estate agent which my husband and I did together.  I am now in school and probably most excited about this career of becoming a Hospice Nurse.  This career is about me and what I want; not do the timing of life, economic issues, job losses or others expectations.  This time it feels different, it is a pressure that I chose.  At times I wonder why and if I can do it?  So far I have been able to succeed although it is not easy, but nothing in life worth having is.  I am past the stage of the child care dilemma, even though our daughter still lives at home she is self-sufficient to a point (still needs her mom at 2 am in the morning for mom and daughter talks).  While working 30 hours a week and taking 2-3 classes a quarter does not leave a lot of leisure time or with my husband.  Work schedules being opposite it leaves a lot of pressure for couple time.  I’m also part of the sandwich generation I am taking care of my mom more as she is getting older.  With the lessening of neurons in my 47 year old brain it takes longer to study then it used too.  But with all that said the life that I have had up to now has prepared me for some of what I am going through. The life experience that is brought to an occupation or current job and the age one is at that time, I think has a lot to do with job satisfaction.  I am again staring at the bottom of a new career, but I love my job, because I know where it can take me and I am more confident than I would have been at a younger age.  I also am lucky enough to have good people and mentors around me and that does make a difference. We spend a lot of time at our jobs/careers and with all the stresses in life; hopefully one can have a career that is also self–fulfilling.