Sunday, 19 July 2015

Fear of old age and a positive outlook



19 July

Do you have a set routine for first thing in the morning? We do, and today has been anything but routine with Jan getting up early to get ready and go to church while she left me in bed. The result is that I feel out of sync, if know what I mean. I’m normally up first and go through and get the kettle and while I wait for it to boil I take my morning dose of pills. I’m so far out today that I’ve only just taken them; and I only remembered them now because our new month’s load is sat beside me armchair waiting to be sorted.

We are all different of course, ‘A good job to,’ some would say. I like current affairs documentaries, like Tonight, Despatches and so on. Others can’t be bothered with them. At times I can see their point. The last edition of Despatches for instance, I found interesting. It was about how we are going to be cared for in our dotage. The way things are going the future is not looking too bright for a lot of older folk.

It’s something that I’m not all that worried about really seeing as right now I feel fit and well enough that I don’t need looking after. OK, fine; but of five or ten years’ time? And what of the light of my life Jan? Neither of us are in the best of health generally. At the moment we share the house work so neither of us doing too much in one go. But how long can that go for?

Finances are a big issue for a lot of folk, elderly or not. I never paid into a works pension as such, but I’m lucky in the having spent 12 years in the army I have a pension from that. Altogether with that added to our pension credit and retirement pension we are fairly comfortable. But here’s the run; if I pop me clogs before Jan, she is not entitled to my army pension. Why? We didn’t get married until after I left the army and even if we did marry before then, she would only get a share of it for the years we were married while I was in. That will leave Jan with just her bare pension.

Coming back the programme then … do programmes like that help all that much I wonder? My mother could never see the positive side of anything at all. When Tom was born her first words were, ‘I hope you can afford to keep him cos I can’t help!’ See negative. And I’m sure there will be a lot of others of mam’s generation who are pretty much the same. So having seen the programme, I wonder how many folk will now start to worry about how they will manage in a few years’ time. Maybe it’s a good job the show doesn’t have a large viewer figure.

Today’s photo is this one again … 

I make no apologies for reposting this, cos it shows how well he is getting on with his life no matter where that leads him. A clear and positive attitude.

Today’s funny …

A man dies and mets St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. Peter says to the man, "Here's how it works. You need to have one hundred points to get into heaven. You tell me about all the good things you've done. They are all worth a certain number of points. If your total is one hundred or more, you can come in."
"Well," says the man. "I was happily married to the same woman for 52 years. I never looked at another woman. I was attentive and loved her dearly."
"That's great," says St. Peter. "That'll be two points."
"Hmmm," says the man. "This is going to be harder than I thought. Well, I attended church regularly, volunteered my time and tithed faithfully."
"Wonderful," says St. Peter, "That's worth another point."
"One point!" says the man. "Okay, okay. I was involved with a prison ministry for twenty-five years. I went into the prison, at least monthly, and shared Jesus with them."
"Wow!" says St. Peter. "That's another two points!"
"Only two points!" says the man. "At this rate, it'll be only by the grace of God that'll I'll ever get into this place."
"Bingo!" says St. Peter. "That's one hundred points! Come on in."

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