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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Growing Old

The following is a post I wrote 2 weeks before Kylie was born in Sept 2012, don't have time to post it till now:

Now that I have a son and soon a daughter in two weeks, I found that my thinking has changed significantly.  Parenthood allows me to see in a new perspective with a different pair of lens. I used to listen to my parents' advice a lot. But in these years, I come to realized that my parents, like all others, inevitably have many flaws and their advice is affected by their own experience.  I am not disappointed in any ways, rather, I feel a sense of independence. Parental advices, even at their best interest, need to be filtered because ultimately I am responsible for the decisions I made, the joy as well as pain in the season of life.

Another interesting realization is when I get old, how will I take care of myself?  The other day I was searching for nursing homes around my neighborhood. I am just curious how much it costs and what's the living condition. Live with my children? Assisted living in senior housing? How about nursing home? Do we have enough money for retirement? All these questions suddenly become realistic to me.  I told Vincent that if he gets too old to a point that I can't take care of him, we can both admit ourselves to a nursing home and we can still live together.

My world is constantly evolving. I once heard a saying "growing old gracefully". Well, I can't imagine myself being graceful, but gaining some wisdom along the way? Not a bad idea.

Summer's Footprint: