End Of Life Planning & Preparations

 

At some point we all have to face the inevitable fact that one day we will die.  It happens to all of us, no one gets a free pass.  I personally do not fear my own demise.  I am a Believer and I know deep down in my soul that there is a heaven and my loved ones that have gone before me are waiting for me there.  I miss them and I very much look forward to being with them again.  For me, death is the reward for a well lived life.

 

This past summer I made it a priority to get ALL of my affairs in order.  My first task was to update my will as the current one was geared toward the fact that I had minor children.  I definitely do not have minor children anymore so I got busy and rewrote my will.  I then printed it out, went to my bank, got it witnessed and notarized and then I got it filed.  DONE!  And it was a huge load off of my mind to have that completed and checked off the list.

 

That same day I also filled out, signed and got my Advanced Medical Directive registered with the State of Idaho.  Now, if I’m ever in a state where I will not be recovering and my death is imminent, medical professionals will know exactly how I want my medical care directed.  I personally want no heroic measures, but unless I had put that in writing, how would anyone know this?  Now my wishes for end of life care are official.

 

I made out a very short property list of certain personal items I want to go to each of my children and it is attached to my will.  I have nothing of high value, these are just things that mean something to me and I truly believe will mean something to them, primarily just some family jewelry and a collection of photo albums with family historical notes.  I am very realistic that I own nothing else that they want and I am completely fine with that.

 

Disposal of my dead body was next on the list and not only is it a part of my will, but I have also separately made out more detailed instructions and included the contact information for the funeral home that I want to take care of things.  Funds are already set aside to take care of this process and pay the expenses.  Most importantly, my children will not be burdened with this or have any responsibility for making the arrangements, including the financial aspects.  It will all be taken care of.

 

Next I wanted to make sure that my executor is going to be able to easily take care of all of their responsibilities.  Executorship is not an easy position to be in sometimes and I don’t want this to be the case for mine.  In order for it to be as smooth a process as possible I have detailed written instructions for how to pay the bills and any final expenses incurred until my estate is settled.  I have listed who to contact to cancel insurance policies, credit cards, internet service, etc.  This is one of those documents that I will need to be diligent about updating as things change, but my goal is to make sure my executor has everything they need to handle my estate.

 

Along with all of this is my plan to continue Swedish Death Cleaning and minimizing my own possessions as I age.  I don’t need to be burdened and weighed down with an over abundance of stuff any more than anyone else does so I am finding a lot of peace in getting rid of the things I no longer want, need or use.  My hope is by the time I leave this earth my home will be whittled down enough that my children and my executor can easily clear my home of its contents.

 

While I was in the midst of working on all of this last summer, one of my co-workers suddenly died.  She was one of the fitness instructors at the Community Center and she taught our senior Stretch & Tone class.  She was away visiting her sister and while at her home she suddenly died of cardiac arrest.  Knowing how healthy and fit she was I was reminded that we all have an expiration date and we don’t necessarily know how or when we will go.  Despite our best efforts, when it is our time to go, it is simply our time to go.

 

That particular event of my co-worker’s sudden death was enough to reassure me that I was definitely on the right path and I needed to keep on doing what I was doing.  Now that I have I am greatly relieved to have my affairs in order.  I no longer have that weighing on me and I have the peace of mind that I am going to make my departure so much better for the ones I leave behind.