I found the section about the impacts of beliefs about memory aging in Chapter 14 to be very intriguing. I agree that many people, myself included, believe memory declines with age. Often times when I tell a story about forgetting something, the adults around me exclaim, “You are too young to have memory problems”. I truly do have a bad memory. I know I could never be a waitress because I would have to write everything done, which is not feasible when your hands are holding a pile of dirty plates! I also know that my shopping trip will be most successful if I make a list before entering the grocery store. Given my lack of a sharp memory, I sometimes wondered what it would be like to get older and experience a loss of memory. I now know that it seems that part of the “old age” memory loss is due to accepting the memory decline rather than trying to remember more. There may be hope for my memory after all!
Chapter 15 explores retirement and I am looking forward to those days, even though I haven’t started working full time! Many of my family members and other retirees that I know are busier in retirement than they were in their fulltime jobs; however they are doing things that they love. I see retirement as a time to do the things what you enjoy. One of my grandmothers stays busy with a quilting group, travel group, and bridge club. My mom is currently counting down the days to her retirement so she can pursue a painting and photography business (I am helping her design a website: www.wilkinsonartandphoto.com). The picture I posted this week is the studio that my mom and dad are building for my mom. She says it is her “retirement home”. I believe she will be much happier when she is spending all day doing something that she loves. I also know that many people are working longer for financial reasons. It is much easier to enjoy retirement when you are financially stable. I know it will be important for me to consider my retirement funds as soon as I have a full time job.
Chapter 16 was about dying and bereavement. I have experienced the loss of family members, my best friends’ family members, and members of my church family. I believe the loss that has affected me and my family the most was the loss of my cousin Dave. He died in a car accident on December 29, 2006. He was 21 years old and would have graduated the following spring. His girlfriend of four years was the driver and she sustained life threatening injuries (she had a full recovery). She was hospitalized throughout the funeral services. I took pictures after the family night and after the funeral when everyone except my family had left. I photographed all of the things and pictures we brought to the funeral home for family night. I also took pictures of the flowers that were sent. The hardest thing I have ever done in my life was taking pictures of Dave in a casket but I wanted his girlfriend to have some way to be apart of the funeral services. It didn’t seem fair that she would miss this time of closure. Even though it was incredibly hard, the process of taking pictures gave me a sense of closure. They are still stored on my computer and every now and then I look at them, I cry and then I feel better. Those pictures are a part of how I processed my grief. Had the circumstances been different, there would not have been a need for the pictures and I would have developed a different way to process my grief. I think this shows that processing grief can and will be different for everyone, each time they experience it.
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