Thursday, October 21, 2010

Expectant Life -or- Expecting a Long Life




I had breakfast yesterday with a group of retired nurses I had worked with over the past few decades. Some of us meet monthly but yesterday were happy to see four new people join the group. It has been a few years since I have seen some of them.
We took turns telling what was going on in our lives. There were updates on our kids and grandkids and husbands. Some were going through serious health problems and we empathized. Several were getting ready to head to a warmer climate for the winter. One is going to New York to sing with a Chorale group at Carnegie Hall. We were impressed. She said her granddaughter asked "What's Carnegie Hall". Kids will keep you humble.
My former "boss" said she had fired her doctor and now got her health care from a "Mid-life midwife". ?? Everyone but me seemed to understand the term. Since she is a year older than me, I wondered what place a midwife had in her life. Of course I Googled the term when I got home and found many sites. One described a mid-life midwife as someone who helps you give birth to the rest of your life. Hmmm. The word midwife doesn't seem to fit in my life, and if this is mid-life I am surprised. I enrolled in Medicare on my last birthday. If this is mid-life I should be expecting to live to 130. I guess I am not that optimistic.
Mid-life doesn't seem right for me, but I am not going to upgrade to an "End-life Midwife either. I think I will stick with my physician.

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