so between the hardest stage of life and some of PF comments and threads lately

someone commented that 65-75 are not the hardest if you have had your priorities strait throughout your life.

well here is a question that I found renders/distills a persons priorities in a hurry. everyone should start by answering this. question , yes there is a part B

Question :
You have 11 months to live, the next 10 will be at your current level of health. The 11th will be downhill rapidly. (hospice is covered and will keep you nearly pain free in that final month.)

A. What are you doing with your time?
B.


think about that some , no month and no season will repeat.
then if you care to share your answer please do.

also you are who you are today with exactly the savings and resources you have today, today begins your 11 months. your last day is Jun 7th 2027

also no I am not sick but my wife was given a similar scenario Jan 2025 and lived it the 6 months she got.

Well being that I am terminal with no cure having End Stage Kidney disease it's not really hypothetical for me. Just about amonth ago it felt the end was immenent ,it's been nine years of this and it does take a heavy toll, I felt closer to the dead than alive. All I have to do is stop treatment and let nature take it's course. About 2-3 weeks I am gone. But I thought it over first because you don't get a do over. My kids are grown and have good lives and my wife is an independent type so they all will be fine so that's not a thing really but I decided I still have some work inside me that will surpase any of the art,carving , gunmaking I have done plus my pond project. So I got my head on right , upped the dialysis, doing PT on my legs and now I can walk with far less of that crippling pain that I thought I would be in a wheelchair. Even gaining some weight back from 106 to 117 and mental attitude is way up and fired up. Still have constant pain and bad days I can't do any thing but not as frequent by a lot. So I would say if your time is limited don't waste it. Do the things that mean something to you and are worth the fight. Don't put it off , when the end comes be content in that you LIVED

I wouldn't tell Anybody about my condition
I would go on with my life as normal for 10 months
On the 11th I'm going on a hiking trip
Got a brook trout stream that calls my name


The last walk
The way it originally was done

part A
I would dip into my retirement savings and buy the boat I want that will very comfortably fish 3-4 people title it in my son's name jointly I already do that with everything he is an OR owner on anything since my wife passed before that she was an OR owner on everything.

I have a little cleaning to and organizing to do while my boat is getting setup give myself a week or so for that. probably hire someone to paint the trim and put a new roof on the house , it isn't leaking but I would want it ready for the kids to sell or not have to worry about it for a long time.

then I am going on a fishing and visiting tour till it cools down then pheasant hunting with friends and relatives and head south for the winter for more fishing until I check myself into hospice.

going fishing with everyone I want to because some of the best visiting happens while fishing.

well i wouldnt work anymore,that would be a start,and i have enough money set aside to do what ever i want,travel ,fish,maybe some exotic hunts.and i have no debts to leave on my family

If I tip over in 2 minutes my possessions are all taken care of. Think I would spend ten months with kids grandkids and greatgrandkids.. Trapping fishing hunting camping and trying to teach some of the lessons I have learned. I try to do that regular now while I am healthy.

Part B

the part be question is

How is that different from what you are doing today?


yes the question is designed to make you think about your limited time. give it a very clear definition as sub year no repeat months or seasons.
Then ask you to realize we all have limited time none of us knows when the end will be and we don't repeat the seasons of our life.


so my part B is
I have a trip scheduled July , August , September
July is a week of fishing with my dad and brother up nort
August is camping with friends actually 2 different trips.
September is a canoe camping trip with a friend to a canoe only wilderness area.

also weekend and week night fishing you know in-between mowing the lawn and taking care of painting that trim that needs doing.
then pheasant hunting one day a week once season opens.

I have to keep working and saving for the possibility that I could live well past 11 months.
I am saving for a larger boat but my current boat is comfortable for 2 and if the 3rd person is small we can fit them in.

I have a DDF and the kids know where to find it not what is in it other than the paperwork they will need.
DDF= drop dead file.
it has my final wishes , all the accounts , any insurance , medical and durable power of attorney all the lawyer garbage as well as a message for the kids.

also yes when I pay off my credit card at the end of the month from my most recent Davis tent order , I owe no one a dime in this world , the kids will be decently set to also owe no one anything and will have a house to live in or sell.

all my kids are adults I have one left in college. the other 2 are out and working.

I would refill my subscription for viagra!

Part B
No difference in the first 10 months
I take care of my Mother full time and my grandsons part time
I work when time allows, I have a small clientele list that of well to do people that understand and are willing to wait for me to do the work.

I had to give up full time work 5 years ago now. But I do subcontract work from time to time also

So nothing would change

I'm going on an Alaskan cruise month 1. Month 2 to ireland. After that, I don't know. Family time maybe. And also get things in order.....I wish I knew today when the end for me was. It would make things a lot easier.

1st thing is I don't tell anyone except for the wife.
2nd get financial stuff lined up. I have large Ins policy, I have it go to my 3 kids, my wife is already financially OK.
3rd get my stuff in order, clean up and get rid of all manner of personal stuff so wife and kids don't have to deal with it.
4th take wife on a couple of trips she always wanted to do.
nothing for myself, I have lived a very good life and would be content to go today.

Last month, live it out at home, I have Ins to cover home nurses etc so I wouldn't be a burden on wife.

I would work like crazy and start liquidating stuff and cleaning up my place, would hire someone to do a bunch of house projects so my wife and kids would be set.

Enjoying our great outdoors trapping,hunting,and fishing

You've had a lot of time to think about that lately, Pete. I hope your final plan could include a little fishing with us too. I would really enjoy that.

Patrice

I would just want to spend time with family and a couple of good friends that I consider family.

Have your affairs in order. So you are not a burden on your loved ones.

Nothing else really matters. IMO. But that is the way I was raised.

It would depend on your age when you get that news.
A young guy qould have a ton of things he would want to do,,a middle aged person a few less things maybe.At my age having done pretty much everything I have ever wanted to do I would just continue the laid back good life I am now living.

Agree.
I would make sure all details are written out and will is order. I would just live it out the way I have been since I retired 10 years ago. My last walk would be at the ranch and go out with my boots on.

The exact same for me, other than I would go on a hunting trip.

My HMO is terrible and won't cover that. It will only cover the generic "Mycoxaflopin" but I would still get it refilled a few times. Party on.

A. Turn my spirit to the Lord Jesus
B. Follow the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide me and judge my life from then on.
I know the old man is temporary and I am ready for the change.

yeah , you bet , you know we don't have to wait till one of us is dying although my schedule is a little busy for a while.
That is the point of this question to make people think about not living for someday.

give the CCR song someday never comes a listen

I have laid out this question to most all of my friends group it is very interesting how they all answer. some are no surprise at all , some are like I didn't know you wanted to do that.

15+Years now, was written off by most 13 years ago.
Just keep on living, do the best you can, and don't ever believe you can't keep going.
Believe in yourself, and stay as natural as you can.
Drugs or artificial foods aren't in your life.
Any thing man made that isn't natural, isn't good for anyone.
Remember when butter, eggs and real fresh milk was bad for you?
Animal fat was bad for you?
Now I can't get leaf fat, or any fat to render anymore.
People are just starting to wake up.
If you can find a butcher or a farmer that will sell you good animal fat, get it!
Render it down, just like sour dough bread, it's natural.
Look at lard or tallow you can buy for $ 20 a pound, look at the additives in it.
Do your own as much as you can.
Never cut off the fat from a steak or chop, it's the best part of it.
Look up what's in margarine, how it was developed.

My wife has been after me to clean up and get rid of stuff, getting rid of stuff is hard though, but been chipping away at it...got the estate planning recently done, so good there...
and just keep going to work and hope I drop in the boat....My wife will go to Texas by our son....

Just remember...When man plans...God laughs, lol

What I find scary is everyone I knew that had 6 months to live only got a month or a little better- of course that was Pancreatic cancer too. I really dont know what I would do. It would depend on how mobile and pain free I was.

Only God can tell you how much time you have. First thing is, don't believe someone just because they went to medical school.

The question is selectively phrased so that you don't worry about the pain and mobility , you as are you are today for 10 months , I understand that is likely not reality. this is a thought exercise.

they told my wife 8 months if she did nothing up to 18 months if she did all the treatments.

she did all the treatments.

she got 5 months 23 days
more like 22 days diagnosis came at 4pm and she passed at 11 am that last morning she wasn't with it , was for the most part up to that last morning.
stage 4 metastatic bile duct cancer , it is a form of pancreatic cancer but it started in the bile duct that connects the liver , gallbladder and pancreas together to the intestine
it takes out the liver but it had already spread to the lungs and god only knows where else.


The point of the question is to ask yourself with a finite life left what would I do with it.

Then to realize you have a finite amount of life and go implement what you would do as much as possible. while also calculating savings and plans to live to 90-95.


True only god can tell you how much time you have left , the medical school people will almost always tell you longer because they make money and learn about the disease by treating you , they also learn more about the disease to help the next person. so they want every minute of your time they can in treatment. you want every minute of your life you can to enjoy it and it is a balancing act for sure.

then every once in a while and people love to tell you about that outlier that they were given 6 months and they got 5 years , they really are an outlier.

I have watched too many people die of cancer thinking they could beat it putting off everything and focusing solely on treatment. living for that someday that never comes.

I also watched people sink their family in debt , they were told 2 years max focus on quality not quantity of life and they took that to mean buy everything because they were also in denial about the reality they were going to die. in the end it became clear they were a very selfish person who talked a good part.

In hind sight , for my wife, treatment was a total waste. way more pain and discomfort and time wasted. however you don't know that going in
I think she probably would have lived longer not treating the cancer because she started strong and the drugs weakened her fast and didn't touch the cancer.
she might have had 8 months from diagnosis had they not treated the cancer.
I can't say and I am not second guessing the decision we made , we made it to get all the time she could with the kids. we got what we got.

Less than 12 months to live? I'd hike into the wilderness for a final outdoor adventure. Save the hospice bed for someone else.

Sorry you went through that GreenPete.

not sure what you mean by written off by most , are you saying the DR told you you had some short ammount of time to live and you have exceeded that by 13 years?

and that you are crediting good eating for your years.

I agree natural foods are the best I eat meat , eggs , diary , vegetable and very little of anything processed

I think you may have missed the point of the question.

which is to ask yourself what would you do if you had a finite amount of life left.

then to realize you have a finite amount of life left and how to implement what you wish to do.

if good eating of natural foods is what you choose to do then great

also yes I have a good farm source for all grass fed beef tallow and it is pre ground and very clean. I render it myself although my son asked me to stop rendering it in the house.
if you are looking message me they will ship it.

In many ways, I feel like the Grim Reaper this year. Seems like almost every week of 2026 is another family member, friend, or very close acquaintance passing or getting a death sentence.

1. Write everything down and make sure the family and few close friends know the plan
2. Ask my wife and daughters what they would like to have for final memories.
3. do what I can to make sure my grandbabies are set up for the future
4. Years ago I learned the phrase "Not my Problem" - I would live my remaining time as the epitome of that
5. Try my best to share what I have learned with my grandkids
6. Get on a virgin prairie dog colony and shoot until the barrel melts

Part B - not much. I've been dealing with death so much the last few years and helping to settle estates, that it taught me and my family some huge lessons. My body is so abused, small health issues are showing up and I know I don't have an exceptionally long life expectancy. Doctor told me years ago when I was having stress issues to only deal with things that I can control - everything else - NOT MY PROBLEM!!

The other advise I have shared with many younger people is to leave nothing unsaid. If you think it, ask about it and talk about it. Death is not a taboo thing. Have those conversations as much as possible and have no regrets

good words Randy , Thankyou

I find great wisdom in the serenity prayer and that it can be applied in many ways , it isn't just for people with substance abuse issues.

Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change.
In many ways this helps to show you what is "not my problem" maybe it is your problem but you can't change it so don't give it energy.
one place to apply this is the news. What good does it do to toss all your energy at the miss information of the day. if you can't change it let it go.

The courage to change the things I can
leaving nothing unsaid. setting your family up for the future without you.

And the wisdom to know the difference.
what is yours to do and what isn't , where you put your energy and where it is just a waste.

I really like this thread.

It made me think of an old gun dealer from Texas I did some business with. Herschel Chadick was his name. In every box he shipped there was a small card printed with a short message about life. It was called "The Station".

In short it told of so many who say that when they reach a certain goal, (the train station), they'll do X, Y or Z for pleasure. The rest of the story basically explains that you never really reach the station as it keeps moving further down the line.

Hence, do what you want as you can and when you're able.

I wish I could find a copy of it. He was a quality guy and dealt in high grade collectible American shotguns like Parker, Fox, Stevens etc.

As for myself and my wife, we've followed his advice over 40 years of marriage. We worked hard and didn't waste our money and were able to retire early and continue to do what we wanted. Not having kids made a big difference in that but to each their own. My 10 months would be spent making sure that my wife was prepared to live in the modern world without me, and make sure that neither the French or American government got any of our money when we are both gone.

Pete

X2

Ask if anybody wants any of my stuff and then cleanup all that is left so nobody else has to worry about it. There would be a big sale.

Meanwhile........live life. When that time comes.....have no regrets........will have been anywhere i ever wanted to go.........seen everything I ever wanted to see.......and done everything I ever wanted to do. The bucket list is all scratched off. Do that now.......don't wait til the end........cause you won't be able to then. And I"m pretty much there now. And at some point a quiet resolves sets in. Well over half of the kids I graduated high school with are gone. The rest of us are on the clock..........you eventually reach a point where you begin to wonder how you made it as far as you did.

Years ago........depending on the crowd.........I'd joke about this end of life scenario.........and told people I had a list of people who ought to be shot. If that time came, I'd spend my time running around shooting those people who ought to be shot. People on the list were real estate swindlers.........lawyers........politicians..............people known to be cheats and crooks in personal business dealings. People who ought to be shot. Depending on the crowd........if you started comparing names...........there were a lot of same on everyone's list. They are well known.

When that stopped being funny was when that day came when a close friend did get that news..........he went from normal to gone in less than 30 days. He had been in on the joke, but didn't shoot anybody and I never would either. Moral to the story is don't do anything in life that would get you on somebody's list. Don't be that guy.

And until then........live life.

Ok, now that I understand a bit better what you are getting at. First thing to do is forgive anyone who you have a grudge against. I had not been given a certain amount of time, but I was told if the treatment didn't work I was out of options, so I had time to think about all the quality-of-life vs quantity questions. And about what matters and what doesn't in life. They say most people have many problems, people with cancer only have one and there's truth to that.
Then, you do what you enjoy most. It's really that simple. Do everything you can to be as healthy as you can in your situation, which, like many said, means getting rid of all the bad foods like sugar and starches and staying natural, eating real food and walking every day. People will say get your affairs in order, make out a will and such. That's all taken care of. The part that gets weird is when you go on living and then you have to decide "What now?" which is where I'm at now.

But yeah, it's usually not a situation where you can just take off and fill your bucket list, because most people in that situation feel like crap and are limited in what they can do.

I would probably take a nap. Sounds good right now but im siting in the truck waiting for the boys to finish a yard they are mowing.
If my finances are the same I would be better doing the same im doing now. I wouldn't dip into my savings or do anything special. I would want mone to do that to stay invested and be there for my wife and kids. I may invest in more dividend stocks and leaving instructions not to sell or touch the engine, only the earning off the engine and reinvesting unless cash is need since the nest is 1/4 of low end what I was shooting for it to be.

If your doing what you enjoy with whatever life you have left , that is your "What now?"

that was the point of all this , figuring out what is your pursuit of happyness.

Im wanting to get back into breaking the bible down, and spending time with the family. Looks like im going to have a lot of time, but be limited on what I can do and cash flow to do things.


What have I done today. Not much. Finished puti g a few bare root burr oak I. Pots with dirt ( only had 18 or so good ones going into 4" tall pots) took 3 days to get started and I started yesterday and finished than today.( should have taken maybe an hour. Then I taught kids in my wides survival skills class how to tie a boline and clove hitch. Rode with the kids to mow a yard since they cant drive on the permit without an adult.

Little to nothing, potted maybe 5 if the remaing trees. Sat in the shade and taught 2 knots for maybe 35 min and sat in the truck for an hour . Im completely wiped out from that. Talk about feeling usless. And that was a much more actuve day than i have been having.. Remember the e days to get started ? Ya those i never made it out of the house. Im So dizzy now I dont trust myself to get up and head for a. Nap. May just sleep in the chair.

well you are going to enter the teaching stage of life here where you teach and ride along and do what you can do.
you being there , mentoring them means more than your back or your paycheck.
they don't have any school schedules to get in the way so spend all the time you can with them.

oh and you will gain he patients of a saint holding your tongue and letting them do it because you can't.
they will learn how to do everything they will need when you aren't around.

the sheet bend is another good knot to teach , lots of uses.

Would drink better coffee, beer, wine, and whiskey. Start selling the stuff I have that the kids don’t want - like reloading supplies and fishing equipment. They probably want my guns. Clean out my closet and keep a bare minimum of shoes and clothing. Probably sell the China and silverware services. Buy a 1916D dime to complete my Roosevelt set, knowing the kids would never do it.

Make a trip back to the places where I have lived to see old friends that have drifted away.

Eat seafood at least every other day.

sounds like you should schedule a trip back to visit and eat some seafood.

After COVID I stopped buying stuff. I don't wanna die with a garage and basement full of junk that I really didn't need and for my kids to have to sell at an estate sale. Keepin it simple these days.

I want to hike the AP trail. I haven't figured out how to get volunteer layoff for six months yet to do it while I video blog. Someday though maybe. I like to think at retirement but you just never know when that may be and if you held up enough to be able to pull it off. Us outdoor types usually live a pretty rough life... its easy to have a bum knee or something by the time you get around to it.

I agree. I tend to go back to working and then wonder why I'm working so much. Old habits are hard to break.

I would share the gospel of Jesus Christ more fervently as we all have been called to do. My life is no longer my own. I would take a few trips to Israel and Muslim countries to share the gospel. The Amish community near me would likely get tired of me sharing the gospel with them as most of them are caught up in their own ordnung. I would continue to pray for those on here that still don't beleive. I would grow closer and closer with my Creator.

take a weeks vacation and do a section at a time you still see it but you break up the time and the wear and tear on your body.

The next 11 months, when I have already lived 942! I won't take the time to do much different at all other than make sure my wife, kids and grand kids know how to disperse a lot of my sfuff, if I have not got that done already and get trust set up for my wife and our assets. I would do almost exactly what I have been doing other than savor those things more.

Bryce

at 78.5 years of age that is the ideal answer.

I asked the pastors father Sunday after the pot luck. he is 75 and his answer was not so Ideal for a 75 year old who just beat cancer last year.

Bob loves to work and he measures a man by his work ethic he has his own small construction business as well as some antiques and auctions. he can't not see a way to make money off many things it probably isn't a massive sum of money but he gets his identity from work.

He also wants to get to more tractor shows , to the Theodore Roosevelt Library and some other things. I said you schedule your own work you should make a few long weekends and go to the tractor shows and go to the library , you are in good health right now do it. I hope he will.

I found that video to be pretty negative. I'm 66, so I'm in the middle of what he called the narrows. My experience at this age has been pretty dang good so far . To answer the question at the start of this thread I would do pretty much what I'm already doing.
Last weekend I went para sailing with my daughter and granddaughter for the first time. It was a blast. Spent the weekend with family at the beach enjoying each other's company.

Going to Argentina next week with a friend and my brother to shoot a bunch of ducks and doves and spend time with friends and family.
Work in my yard and garden almost every day during the summer. Canned a bunch of tomatoes and dill pickles this week. Picked chanterelles and made supper with them for the wife. Shoot sporting clays with a buddy every Wednesday. Did maintenance work at the hunt club on Tuesday and Thursday. Met with a couple of young men I am mentoring on Thursday and Friday. Went to my grandsons ball game last night. Watching my youngest granddaughter today.

Eat lunch and supper with my wife of 38 years every day and play Yahtzee with her every evening before we watch the braves game.

September is dove season. October and November is deer and doves. My wife and I are going to the SC/Georgia football game in November because she is a huge bulldog fan. December January and February is trapping at the hunt club. March is turkey scouting in SC and hunting turkeys in Florida with my son if we get drawn in the lottery. April is turkey hunting every day either by myself or with kids, mine are others.

About the only thing I would do different if I knew I had 11 months to live would be go out of state and country on more hunting trips and different states with my wife. I already do those things but we have to budget a couple of times a year. If I only had 11 months left I wouldn't have to factor in the expense of being able to make my retirement fund last longer.

We never know how long we have left so I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with the people who mean the most to me trying to pass along the things that are important to me. In the end it won't matter how much money I had but how much time I spent with friends and family and how how many lives I touched along my journey. I hope the positives outweighed the negatives and try to move the balance a little more in the positive direction each day.

Flock buster good to hear

the only things I would change are get some projects contracted out
buy a bigger boat so I could take more people fishing in less time and not fight my small boat
and quit working 40+ every week , well quit working in general.


what not everyone knows but it is worth looking into , Many life insurance policies pay out 70-100% pre death when 2 doctors agree you have less than a year to live. that is something to look into.

when we got to where my wife could not work any more well she still could but why she was out of sick time at work from all the chemo days and the recovery day from the chemo day.
at some point you have to call it.
she could work Monday Tuesday , take a day to rest before chemo because if your blood numbers are low , no chemo for you! then chemo day and a day to try and recover from that. then get some visiting in with the kids and family on Saturday then rest Sunday to be able to work Monday Tuesday.
for her that was Feb 12, 2025 after a month of chemo
early April after the first request we came back with all the updated medical records and her policy through her employer paid the life insurance she had through work 1 1/2 x your annual pay is common.
that let us pay what we had left on the house and take a trip.

We had been taking small trips mostly in state and camping that was what we liked to do , but the extra money let me take her back to SC for a week and a half. She loved the beach and seafood I knew in January if we were going to get a seafood trip in we needed to get it in before May the not good seafood months without an R thing

I was going to do it either way , I had all the papers in to take a 401k loan because I didn't have the cash available at the time we drove and stayed at some reasonably priced hotels so while not that much half the income also hurts.
the insurance money let it be a little longer with a lot less stress.

I had worked an estate with her in 2024 where we learned a lot about what not to do. it was my old scoutmaster had passed and he had asked me to help his widow with the guns as she wouldn't know what was what and he didn't want her to get taken.

I am glad to hear so many of you trappers are living the life you built with no regerts yes no regerts unless it is no ragrets this comes from a internet meme of people with No Regrets spelled wrong as a tattoo.

It is a good thing to hear. what you hate to hear is a laundry list of things that someone had been putting off for that someday , someday never comes work on it every day in little pieces.

Well Pete the tread did what you wanted and got me thinking. Im in the middle of huge transition phase . I guess its like when guys retire in some ways. Trying to find the grove and new pace, but much sooner than planed for. With a few twist added like also navigating a body with a mind of its own, the medical system and things like medical and insurance systems. Including disability both through the union and the government that will likely take 15 months.

In my mind I can do things and make plans. Once things get in a routine and lined out I like the idea of taking slow paced budget trips if I can afford them.. But then how will they really go. Will they be fun or just a bunch of frustration. Good example. I decided to check the wood burner( still running heating the hot water ) its 160' from the house. I shuffled out there on stiff legs a few days ago. Put a few small pieces in and looked at the back door and was wondering if my now weak legs were going to carry me back to the house. I had plans on checking the wood burner and maybe starting some light cleaning and organizing of the garage.

Nope made it back to my chair and watched some wine making videos and took a nap. So if on a trip days like that would be more frustrating than fun. I think im going to end up geting fat at this pace.