Old enough for Medicare

Well today I cross that threshold...Medicare becomes activated on the first day of the month a person turns 65 years old. I applied 3 months ago. I've already received my Medicare ID and paid the quarterly installment for Part B coverage. Social Security 'Full' retirement for me would be in one year at age 66.

I don't envision retirement anytime soon. I basically enjoy my work. My clients may have a say on this however. I have two younger siblings Mike and Claire who retired years ago--well before 'normal' retirement age. I guess that is a perk for working for big companies and government agencies.

Mike took an early retirement buy-out from Sears, bought a motor-home and, with his wife Kim, explored the back-roads of America for a year. Funny, but all I can remember seeing from that trip were pictures of their cat.

Claire retired from a state agency to dedicate her efforts to becoming the world's greatest grandparent. I hear that she is making progress toward that goal, but I'm here to tell you that she has serious competition.

But this is a milestone causing much more contemplation/reflection on my part. Previous milestones (30, 40, 50, 60) were noticed but not significant to my psyche. For the most part, I'm comfortable that I fulfilled my responsibilities supporting my family. Marya and I raised 3 great kids into responsible adults. I think we had fun doing it too.

While we struggled to guide our kids thru the minefields of youth, we made it unscathed. No DUI's. No drug problems. No tattoos. No piercings. No pregnancies. We became very active in church as a family. I'm convinced that His involvement was the primary reason we got thru it.

Even with God's help, I'm not sure that I could raise a child today. My hat is off to parents today. Our society is not conducive to healthy moral development of young people. The educational elite are convinced that parental guidance is a toxic influence to young people. Why else would instruction on condom use be more important than core curricula? Why else would we allow school administrators to supersede parents in secretly taking girls to abortion clinics? Then in contradiction, they ironically would encourage young Muslim girls to wear headscarfs to school while insisting--with vitriol--that Christian bibles must be hidden at all times.

I praise God and thank Him for my health, the health of my family, for getting me this far and for the wonderful people He put in my life to support that effort.

Don