Life is too short to not enjoy
My dad just told me about a former co-worker who retired earlier this month in October. They had an online farewell party to celebrate his career and to wish him well in his next chapter of retirement. Sadly, he died later that night completely unexpectedly--the same night of his farewell party and without the chance to actually enjoy his retirement. How completely devastating for his loved ones and for this human being who spent 40 years at his desk without the chance to ever really enjoy life.
Whenever I hear stories like this, it makes me realize how short and unexpected life is. We always think we'll have more time but it's not always true. I just got back from taking my dad to his doctor's appointment and was happy to hear the doctor tell him that he doesn't need to come back because the issues my dad went to see him for have mostly cleared up. While there are likely a few different reasons for this improvement like his reduction of alcohol usage, I think the fact that my dad is now retired and living a relatively stress free life compared to the previous 40 years, has a a lot to do with it.
There are days I feel like an absolute loser for living at home at the age of 30 and jobless. But, then moments like this--a free schedule to accompany my dad to the doctor's office or the ability to spend a couple hours in the kitchen cooking with my parents--makes me feel so lucky. I try to enjoy and appreciate these moments as much as possible because I know that in 10, 20, 30 years, I'll look back on this time as being the best of times. It is a privilege and a blessing to spend time with our aging parents, as adults ourselves. My dad is truly one of the most amazing and funny people I know and I love getting to hang out with him on a weekday.
The below charts are from Sahil Bloom's blog and they paint a realistic picture of what time spent with family looks like as we age. We only spend about one hour a day with our families after our mid-20s and for parents, time spent with children peaks during your 30s/40s when you're still raising them. I love that I get to spend some of my parents' and my best years together.
We could all do with a quick time audit of our schedules to understand how we're spending our time and if it actually resonates with the life we would like to be living. It's easy to be distracted by the big goalposts that society has set for us at each age milestone like being married by 30, having kids by 35, and buying a house somewhere in between all of that. But what about all of the little moments in between that actually comprise a life worth living? I'm still excited to have my own family one day but I want to be present and enjoy the special moments I get to experience every day.