Thank you for this. Ironically, it came at the perfect time. On Monday, May 12, my youngest daughter called in a welfare check on her father. I had been taken by ambulance to the emergency room that morning and we were both concerned that he had not responded to her texts (or to my text asking if he was alive). He wasn't. When the police called and asked my daughter to come down in person, I knew what to expect. I had a neighbor drive us down. The medical examiner refused to take the body and my ex-husband died destitute. It fell upon me to arrange for a private mortuary and I am currently helping my daughter settle his affairs. I am glad that I can be the strong stoic presence that my daughter needs right now. I am also incredibly proud of her because while I have never discussed stoicism with her, she has learned from watching me live my life and she, while obviously in shock and grieving her father, is handling everything well. We are handling all of the practical matters together and have shared memories and even been able to laugh at some things (mostly that obituaries seem to be filled with a lot of lies in efforts to make the deceased appear to be the perfect person…we also laughed about people needing to be extra nice to the person left behind to draft the obituary). Anyway, that you for your response to my prompt.
Thank you for this. Ironically, it came at the perfect time. On Monday, May 12, my youngest daughter called in a welfare check on her father. I had been taken by ambulance to the emergency room that morning and we were both concerned that he had not responded to her texts (or to my text asking if he was alive). He wasn't. When the police called and asked my daughter to come down in person, I knew what to expect. I had a neighbor drive us down. The medical examiner refused to take the body and my ex-husband died destitute. It fell upon me to arrange for a private mortuary and I am currently helping my daughter settle his affairs. I am glad that I can be the strong stoic presence that my daughter needs right now. I am also incredibly proud of her because while I have never discussed stoicism with her, she has learned from watching me live my life and she, while obviously in shock and grieving her father, is handling everything well. We are handling all of the practical matters together and have shared memories and even been able to laugh at some things (mostly that obituaries seem to be filled with a lot of lies in efforts to make the deceased appear to be the perfect person…we also laughed about people needing to be extra nice to the person left behind to draft the obituary). Anyway, that you for your response to my prompt.
Wisdom is the humility to learn and grow; wisdom from “age” is lessons learned from “regrets.”