You reach a point in life when you realize that most of the people dear to you are old enough now that there will be more funerals and dealing with loss in the future. Retirement can serve as that reminder, though most of my retiree friends now are active and healthy. Our mother was the youngest of three daughters and we are the youngest of all of the cousins, so will in theory be seeing those relatives shuffle off this mortal coil ahead of us.

Dwelling on that can subject matter can muffle the pleasure one otherwise experiences in life. We each have to think about it and deal with it in our own ways as we move forward.