November 30, 2014. Ridgeland, Mississippi. Planning Ahead.

This is clearly ridiculous. For the first time in my life, I can not even write Christmas cards because I do not know what lies ahead. Ken and I always planned ahead. It was second nature to us, to try to figure out where we wanted to go, with the budget set by our financial resources. We did it when Ken was a medical student and I a teacher. Lots of folks thought we were nuts but I did not care because I knew that if you do not plan for something, that something will never happen and nothing will get done. So we planned for our future. So here I am, almost 77 years old, and do not know what the future will hold. I have always assumed good health for me. I joked to someone this summer that if I survived 77, I would live to be 95. My sister died at age 77 when she had been healthy until she died so I superstitiously commented that I must get through 77 in order to live to a ripe old age. If I did not have a strong stomach, the whole business with my pleural effusion would be unsettling, but I am just awaiting the biopsy on Wednesday so I will know what to say on my Christmas cards. I prefer to make long term plans!!