25 Mar Dig Your Well

An ancient Chinese proverb tells us to dig our well before we are thirsty.  What great advice this is. Do you ascribe to that way of thinking?  I do.  It makes perfect sense to me…in my head.  The logic is definitely there however it takes more than that.

What this means is that one has to think way out front of today and be prepared for tomorrow.  That is not so easy.  How many times I have wished that I had seen what was coming down the pipe and been much more prepared.  Know what I mean?  I can think of any number of retired friends I have that know exactly what that means.

In fact, it is what we can’t see that we need to prep for.  Several years ago when my hubby and I were retiring from teaching, we opted out of the offerings of joining the insurance plan.  We were both so healthy; my hubby a national swim champion for his age group and I couldn’t tell when I had my last prescription.  After giving it some considerable due diligence we determined that we would pay as we went.

Wrong!  Our prognostication skills failed us.  Hubby was diagnosed with a terminal neurological disorder/disease and has required many assisted devices within our home.  Thankfully, my health is holding up and I am able to be his caregiver.  In fact, I have taken up lifting weight.  No, that’s not supposed to be weights… just weight. His weight.

We chuckle now as we think of all the times I helped him lug things around during our sailing days. He would often have me pick up an end of something heavy. When a fellow sailor would ask if he needed help, Joe would reply, “No thank you. Me got strong woman!”  It annoyed me then but now I am grateful for that most unique weight training.

And that was to get ready to set sail.  Once at sea, there was always so much to do with trimming the sails, healing the boat and of course, preparing meals in the galley.  Lots to do that required strength before the restful smooth sailing.

 But as for being prepared to handle hubby’s illness, I’d have to say that we were not. We did not plan for that contingency.  For the most part we mainly considered the time frame until we were covered with government medical assistance.  But it was so much more than just medicines or medical care. There was much that we didn’t take into consideration in our decision-making process.  We didn’t realize how thirsty we would be and how much we’d need that well.

How are you doing with making plans?  How well do you play the “what if” game?  It is important here to note that we cannot become so consumed with preparing for the worst case scenarios that we handcuff ourselves from enjoying our lives in the moment.  We don’t really know what is coming and if we did it might be way too much for us to take on.  It might paralyze us.

So how do you dig your well? 3 things to keep in mind:

Something is better than nothing.

Put aside just a small amount for your future.  Make it your contingency fund and make it for health care only.  Don’t be tempted to use it for emergency car repairs or a special celebratory trip.  Grow in discipline.  Put aside an amount that won’t negatively impact your life in the moment and commit to it.

Make small changes a little at a time.

As we get older it is so easy to be collectors of all sorts of things.  Memorabilia of family, friends and vacations. Over the years we have often moved up in terms of the size of our homes. We start out with a small apartment and later to a large detached house with more room than needed or used. Why not start the downsizing process and continue a little at a time rather than wait until you have to make one major change.

Declutter now while YOU can decide who gets what.

Did you ever stop to think how much your children might enjoy having some of the memorabilia you have? They’d like Aunt Gussie’s glass candy bowl.  Why make them duke it out for it once you are gone?  Start “gifting” those items stashed away for safe-keeping now so your children can enjoy them now and you can enjoy them enjoying them.  Get that?  Life is too short and too precious. Use the good china now while you can…or let your loved ones use them.  Give your children the pictures of them growing up.  One of my boys wanted his pictures as soon as his little girl was born.  So why not?

I guess what it all boils down to it being prepared. Dig that well.  Be proactive rather than reactive. With pro-action there comes some measure of control ( if control exits … I tend to think it’s an illusion, but that is another blog for another day!)  And yet there is no control with reaction.

Like most things in life, we do have choices to make. And like the old commercial of the old days, “You can do it now or you can do it later.”

What’s your choice?