Two Pennies for the Grim Reaper

Two Pennies for the Grim ReaperMy elderly Mom keeps two pennies in her kitchen cabinet.  I asked her why.  She told me that they are for the Grim Reaper.  She said you have to pay him when he comes calling.  One penny is for her.  The other is for my Dad.

I cannot help but wonder how it feels to be at that stage of your life when you are awaiting the Grim Reaper.  My Mom and Dad are in their nineties.  Like many people, they made a home together and raised a family.  They have both been blessed with good, comfortable lives.  So after the children are gone and even the grandchildren have grown, what is left to look forward to?  How do you make your latter years as fulfilling as your former years?  How do you stay busy enjoying life so that death is not a looming thought?

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I had this really strange feeling that I was being phased out of my own life

Like most people, my life consisted of a long list of responsibilities and obligations that I assumed would continue long into my twilight years. But the universe got off kilter and altered my future in a way that I did not anticipate. As a result, all of the items on my very hectic “to do” list seem to have gotten “done” prematurely.

As a single working mom, my life revolved around raising my two daughters. We lived in a cute little house nestled in an adorable town surrounded by a wonderful sense of security and belonging. I called it my “nest”. It was the place where I was raising my baby birds. That house was the only thing that held me to the ground in the midst of all the fears and struggles that went with being a single parent. Unfortunately, circumstances led to the necessity of having to sell my house just as my last child left home and entered college. When I left that place, I left behind a sense of home that I have never been able to recapture. Continue reading