{"id":30189,"date":"2020-05-10T00:01:50","date_gmt":"2020-05-10T07:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbarafalconernewhall.com\/?p=30189"},"modified":"2020-05-10T00:01:50","modified_gmt":"2020-05-10T07:01:50","slug":"a-lot-of-living-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/a-lot-of-living-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"At 78, I Still Have a Lot of Living to Do — Do the Deciders Care? Sheltering at Home Week 8"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"I'm<\/a>
I have a to-do list that goes on for pages. Writing projects to complete. Bathrooms to remodel. Grandchildren to visit. I still have a lot of living to do. Lots to do for myself and my fellow humans. Photo by Barbara Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sheltering at Home. May 9, 2020 <\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m 78 years old, and I still have a lot of living to do. Books to write. Grandchildren’s graduations to attend. A husband to love and to spat with. Grown children to give the motherly support I believe they still deeply need. Quiet moments on Planet Earth to claim as my own.<\/p>\n

I’m not ready to die.<\/p>\n

I repeat. I’m not ready to die.<\/p>\n

Yes, the economy is suffering under the coronavirus pandemic shut-downs. And people — businesses, poor people, people who have been living paycheck to paycheck — are suffering.<\/p>\n

Am I Expendable?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

But does that make me expendable? Does that make millions of other older folks around the world expendable? How about the people with health conditions — are they not important? Are they not living human beings with life pleasures, big and small, still before them?<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>
My grown daughter and her tiny niece on her baptism day. I’m pretty sure they both still need me. Photo by Barbara Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We are very much alive, we 65-plussers. We have a lot to live for, even if our knees are creaky and we’re not as quick with the flashy repartees as we were in our perky 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.<\/p>\n

We are still here, even if most of us are retired and no longer wield much power in the public square and the marketplace.<\/p>\n

We Get in the Way<\/strong><\/h5>\n

We are very much alive and, in many ways, keener than ever. But we are getting in the way. Which means, for some — some — of the people out there still running things, we need to be invisible. We need to be put aside as inconvenient statistics — not living, breathing humans with hopes and joys, and loved ones still in need of being loved.<\/p>\n

Ezekiel Emanuel, an appointee<\/a> to Biden’s COVID task force, has me worried. Six years ago at the tender age of 62, he declared that he didn’t really want to live past age 75<\/a>. He’d have lost his powers, he wouldn’t have much to contribute to society, and it would not be worth treating any medical conditions he might come down with after 75.<\/p>\n

Does that include COVID? Has he, since making this puerile statement, noticed that his new boss is 78?<\/p>\n

Open the Windows and Let the Virus In?<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\"cover<\/a>
One book written and published, this one. A second, in the works. A third and fourth, germinating.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I tuned into a Zoom fitness class the other day. The teacher was taking a woo-woo, New Age-y approach to the deadly coronavirus. “Just\u00a0open the windows,” she was telling her class. “Let the virus in.”<\/p>\n

I wanted to unmute my Zoom mic and say, “Hey, what about me? Opening the windows too wide and too soon could kill me.” Instead, I clicked Exit Meeting, and left the class, unheard.<\/p>\n

I’d been feeling marginalized lately, by many of the people making decisions — the thought leaders, the power brokers, the meat packers, the political leaders — and now, a fitness instructor.<\/p>\n

It seems that, to some, I don’t count.<\/p>\n

I’m Not Dead Yet — And I Do Matter<\/strong><\/h5>\n

But I do count — to me. As far as I can tell, I’m not dead yet. No where near it.<\/p>\n

For some years now, my plan has been to keep on going till I’m 100. I’d break the family record, held by my grandmother who died at 99 years and 11 months; I’d make it to the 100 mark in 2041. By my calculations, if the coronavirus doesn’t take me out, I’ve got a crack at 22 more years of good life.<\/p>\n

I still have a lot of living to do. My to-do list goes on for pages. Lots of plans, responsibilities, joys and surprises ahead for me. I’m 78 years old and I’m still valuable to a lot of people and — hear this — to myself.<\/p>\n

More on the getting-older thing at “The Shame of Aging: The Big Seven-Five Has Finally Arrived.”<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0If you’re in the mood for another rant from me, tune in to “James Dobson: Bully Your Pet. Hit Your Kid. Make Them Obey You — And God.”<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

If you’d like to keep up with my regular posts, it’s easy to join the conversation<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>
My son Peter on the day his first child was born. I’d like to be there for her high school graduation. No, make that her college graduation. Photo by Jon Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"a<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m 78 and I still have a lot of living to do. But I’m feeling marginalized by the coronavirus deciders — corporate leaders, power brokers, TV pundits. Read more.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,30,41],"tags":[103,1482,2179,187,34,55,282,2184,197],"class_list":["post-30189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-case-of-the-human-condition","category-my-changing-family","category-sheltering-at-home-chronicles","tag-aging","tag-career","tag-coronavirus","tag-death","tag-dont-miss","tag-family-stories","tag-politics","tag-sheltering-at-home","tag-the-writing-room-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}