“Do it while you are able.” I was reminded of these words of wisdom spoken to me by my seventy-year-old father over fifteen years ago, as I was on my way to the hospital this week to visit my mom who had fallen. My father was suffering through lung cancer that had been diagnosed. He was on his “trip of a lifetime” in Italy. He could not keep up with the tours and missed a number of the highlights of the trip. When he returned and entered the hospital for the last months of his life, he advised me to “Do it (enjoy life – travel, etc…) while you are able.”
My mom has lived with my wife and I for the past dozen plus years. We are her chief caregivers. She is starting to struggle. She fell and ended up in the hospital a month back. This past weekend she fell again that necessitated another trip to the hospital. She came home and fell again. She is stubborn and believes she can navigate without her walker. The recent visits to the ER have proven otherwise. We have been fortunate that the falls have not resulted in broken bones, just a few concussions. The lesser of two evils? The concussions seem to add to the progressive loss of her short-term memory. It is sad. But it is what it is.
“Do it while you are able.” These words have stuck with me as I continue to pursue my firsts. I’m doing my firsts while I am able. My mom is getting to the point where she is physically unable. Old age is (hopefully) ahead for all of us. How about you? Are you taking advantage of doing something you have always wanted to do (a first?) while you can? What are you waiting for?