There are many things in life that I find humans take for granted: our first world countries, our good health, our youth. As long as I am young, I will take my youth for granted, but I try to be conscious of this fact and therefore enjoy every moment I can. Loving my home and community makes me realize just how good I have it living in the US, let alone my home state.

But one thing that continually gets to me is my health. Volunteering for a cause such as helping cancer patients and families puts me closer to the cruel realities of bad health and aging. But the worst was watching my mother be ripped apart inside as she took care of my degenerating grandmother for a year. Her body became frail first, and the mind followed.

It became so heart breaking, I could hardly be in the same room with my grandmother. Let alone talk to her because she was so far gone from the woman I had known and heard all these amazing stories about. Even now, almost a year after her departure from this Earth, the pain of those memories shatter my resolve and brings me to tears.

When I lost her, I lost so much knowledge and kindness and wisdom in my life. So much of her past I will never know. Even my mother only knows a portion of her, because she is only a portion of my grandmother.

Continually, I see people questioning their plans for retirement and the future there after. Who will take care of you when you age? After seeing my grandmother decay into a small shadow of her former self, I can only hope I will never go that far. I never want to be a burden on anyone like that, let alone myself. But I think it is wholly unfair to expect your children to take care of you in some manner as you age.

To make my aging smoother, I vow to take care of my body as best as I can. And being childfree allows me the finances to help accomplish this. With only myself and my SO to care for, I can afford to have the choice produce and proteins of my choosing. It is only too much of a blessing that my boyfriend appreciates and enjoys the food I prepare without any flak about what it contains. For every meal I experiment and try something new, I silently thank my boyfriend for going along with me (and then the excitement when he truly likes the experiment).

Cooking for my community project has been a wake up in how important health is. Cooking for my boyfriend has inspired me once again to experiment and never question myself while in the kitchen. I always want to be my best for him, for myself, for our future.

And yet another post that has turned sentimental and appreciative of the people around me to support and love me. But I don’t want that to take away from my original intent. What do you think about aging, who will take care of you? What can we do for this world to ease the burden of our aging?

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