I have been urging everyone to write an advanced directive, but recently, I realized that it is hard to have it with you when you need it. Whenever you are admitted to a hospital, even for outpatient surgery, they ask if you have an advanced directive. How many of us can remember to bring it with us? And of course if you have an accident, you certainly don't have it with you. Thus far I have found two ways to store it on the internet. One website, My Directives, will guide you through writing one that is compatible with state guidelines. Then you can print out a card and carry it with you, so any hospital could access that record of your advanced directive.

There is also a Virginia Registry that will store your advanced directive. You can download a form, fill it out, and then save it in the Virginia Registry. Many people think you need an attorney for an advanced directive, but Virginia has made it easy to use a form and register it. If you know what you want, fill in the form, sign and date it and have two witnesses sign it. You do not need a notary or an attorney. If you are not sure about what you want, call me. I can explain what therms mean, and help you look at your own values, so you can verbalize your desires.

Everything can change in an instant

A recent column in our newspaper gave me some food for thought. It talks about a man who was on a flight which was forced to land on the Hudson River. It is a good example of how things can change in an instant, and the thoughts that go through our heads during those seconds that seem like hours. Some things become so much clearer under that microscope of impending death. Our priorities in life jump to the top of the pile of thoughts.

Ten years ago, my car skidded on a curvy road, and all of a sudden, it turned in a complete circle and  then flipped over completely. While this was happening, my thoughts were racing. My brain was yelling, "I am not ready to die! I still have some important work to do! It is not time yet!" Fortunately, a nice bank of dirt stopped my car, I was wearing my seat belt, and I was able to climb out of my car without help. That brush with death re-focused my efforts to get that work done, but it also made me decide what was important.

We have all heard the phrase, "Carpe diem", or "Seize the day." To me, this means living every day to the fullest extent possible. It means making time to nurture myself, and balancing all the demands on my time, like work, family, exercise, and housework, with some time to relax and read a good book. As a "boomer" getting older, I know that I might have twenty to thirty more years to live, or maybe not. So I am developing my own "bucket list" that includes some travel. Since I am seizing the day, I will not wait until I retire to make that happen. I will travel a little bit every year.And I will stop to watch the birds a few minutes every day. Carpe diem.