"Free" to Die

Bob Choi

7 February 2013

I would never have the audacity to say this while my mom was still alive: her longevity was quite a challenge to her children. Many of her children are fairly old. My oldest brother is now 80. He had to keep himself healthy because he dared not die while mom was still alive as that would certainly have met with her stern disapproval!

Now that dear Mom is gone, her children are "free" to die... in thory, that is. In practice and as far as I am concerned, freedom to die remains somewhat out of my reach because... well, Kitty, my dear wife has said on more than one occasion that if I should die before she did, she would be devastated. Since she is 10 years younger than I am and generally women out-live men, you can imagine the pressure I must feel to stay alive. One important lesson of the day: A man's job is never done for as long as there is a woman who loves him.

Yes, I am feeling much better now. My sense of humor is slowly coming back.