And you knew that by the end of it, your body and mind would give out and you're already getting weak and sickly. Let's say that estimate is given with the caveat that you could still crap out at any moment, and that the estimate is best case scenario if you don't drink, smoke, and you eat extremely carefully and exercise - and modern medicine can't do any better than that. Let's say further that you're not an old man, maybe still a few years off from 40. You aren't independently wealthy, you aren't a celebrity, you're just an average joe. Say you've got a wife and a kid, a house, a few pets and a job. That kinda thing.

What would you do with the time left? Would you spend money on furthering your education, incurring debt knowing full well you'd have less than two decades to earn the rest of everything you're going to make in your life? Would you give up the family life and chase your dream girl? Would you sell everything you knew you couldn't take with you that you didn't want to leave for your child and try to live simply day by day, trying to be a good example? Would you sell your truck and buy a Dodge Challenger? Would you try to write a novel?

What would you do? Oh, and please, for fuck's sake NO POLITICS. Asking for a friend.

I would do everything I could to get out of debt and ensure my wife and kids had a comfortable life after I was gone. I would also try to spend as much time as I could with my family, maybe take a few trips, but mainly just make memories with everyone.

Not real sure, but I'll put this out there...

A kid had leukemia in high school and wasn't supposed to live but a couple more years. He pretty much did whatever he wanted after hearing that news. Most would say, lead a wild life. He passed away at the age of 60.

One never knows.

I am now 65. So your time frame applies to me, in all probability.
I have made arrangements that my passing wont burden those I leave behind. And then live the best I can and try to enjoy the time I have left.

Really depends on the individual. Hopefully you’ve already married your dream girl so that’s a non issue.
I would try to be sure we were financially secure as best I could, then try to spend whatever time I have left with my family creating good memories.

The answer, at least for me, is what one should do regardless of the time they have left...

Leave behind as few regrets as possible and a legacy of love and good works for those that will remember you.

Tough question to answer.
I'd like to think and hope that I'd keep doing what I'm doing now.

See this thread…

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/6590008484

Hopefully nothing serious with you up in the middle of the night posting stuff like this. The first paragraph is spot on for me.

I would try to make the most of every day. Try to find ways to make stuff happen. If I couldn't, I'd ask for help from those who can.

Chasing the girl of my dreams? Yeah, I've already tried that. I thought I'd found 'Mrs. Right' until I realized her first name was 'Always'. Be happy with what you have.

Selling my truck and buying a Dodge Challenger? Nah! Then I'd have to make payments (that would be a first) on something with less interior room and a smaller engine.

I have no debt and kept my bills to a minimum. I can fix my washing machine, build my own clocks, and rebuild an automatic transmission. The good Lord has given me all that I could hope for.

My plan is to have what time I have left with family and friends. My spare time would be had with helping others and bouncing a few ideas off of the patent office.

I'd buy a renewable 15 or 20 yr term life policy for as much as I could afford.

Keep doing what I'm doing now, working to keep those I love financially afloat. Also, would take a few trips, to include an Alaskan cruise and the Grand Canyon. I would get rid of items that only mean something to me, and sell off anything anybody else wouldn't have a use for. Secure life insurance policies to ease their financial futures. Make arrangements for my after-death party and my cremation; I don't need to take up any more space on this earth.

At my age, that's about it for me.

We've been thru the financials, insurance policies, how to notify each organization.

Plots are bought, headstone erected. Service planned.

Got right with God.

I was in that position at age 15. Doctor said I probably only had 10 years to go.

So I did it all, or at least I tried to.

Had a great time, did a lot of things, then lived way beyond what the Doctor said.

When you've only got 10 years to live, nothing scares you.

Ed, this was quite a post to read first thing today.

When reading your question, I sat here drinking coffee for a while before I replied, trying to get what I want to say just right.

I am really blessed. I married my dream girl 15 years ago. So that box is checked. 37 cars between my wife and myself, and I’m pretty much driving the dream, which is my Jeep. We just put in an offer on our dream home, so I guess that box is checked.

First thing I would do is look into different diets and see if there were cleaner foods that are easier on certain affected parts of the body and how to eat healthier. I would hope that a change to my diet could squeeze a few extra years out.

I would spend time doing what I could to get everything paid down or paid off. I would spend free time doing enjoyable things with the people who mean the most to me. I think there would be lots of barbecued food. I would try to get away from home and go on an actual vacation at least a few times. I would schedule a week or two in Moab, just for the off roading. I would probably buy a TIG welder and spend some time perfecting that skill. Then again, maybe I wouldn’t waste the time, and might find something better to do with my wife.

This is a hard question. I look at life and think if I live long enough to pass from “old age”, I probably have around 40 years. My wife is older than I am. She probably has about 20 left. So this question you asked has really weighed heavily on my mind. It has solidified that I am quite happy to move my dream girl into her dream home. It’ll be a hell of a cool place for the stepkids to inherit.

I would try to find a way to enrich someone else’s life. I’m not sure how, but I would like to teach someone something, or help someone in a way that would make a lasting impression on them.

Your question is also a reminder that today could be my last day. Maybe I should start working toward some of the things I listed. I would hate for 20 years to pass and realize I squandered that time.

Tim McGraw. “Live like you were dying” surely comes to mind.

My specialists gave me dire information suggesting similar news OP outlines. That was almost 30 years ago.

They were startled when I asked whether I was going to die FROM it or WITH it.

I had to commit to living as well as I could, taking such teachings to heart and in daily actions, that were striving to lead me to the Promised Land.

If I knew for sure, like a had a degenerate disease, I would get insurance that would keep my wife comfortable.

Then retire, spend down my savings and live well the rest of my life.

Problem I may live 15 or thirty years.

I don't want to live the last 15 years poor so I keep working.

Very interesting post. I'm 74 and getting closer to the end than I would like.
My answer would be based on the Tim McGraw song "Live Like You Were Dying"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9TShlMkQnc

He said
"I was in my early forties
With a lot of life before me
When a moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days
Looking at the x-rays
And talkin' 'bout the options
And talkin' 'bout sweet time"
I asked him
"When it sank in
That this might really be the real end
How's it hit you
When you get that kind of news?
Man, what'd you do?"
And he said
"I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying"
And he said
"Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying"
He said
"I was finally the husband
That most of the time I wasn't
And I became a friend a friend would like to have
And all of a sudden going fishin'
Wasn't such an imposition
And I went three times that year I lost my dad
Well I, I finally read the Good Book, and I
Took a good, long, hard look
At what I'd do if I could do it all again

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
I am now 65. So your time frame applies to me, in all probability.
I have made arrangements that my passing wont burden those I leave behind. And then live the best I can and try to enjoy the time I have left.

That’s where I am.

At 71, I think of this exact scenario daily. I try to do something meaningful each day and document it on my calendar. We're are trying to sell our Montana home to move to a warmer climate - Tucson - as to escape the dark, cloudy winters here. We just bought Ebikes to get more exercise and see things in a different perspective.

We love to take cruises but that's out now. We wanted to to the AlCan highway and/or a trip across southern Canada to the New England states this year but that's out now.

We have a comfortable life, good health and we are extremely blessed. What else is there?

Getting right with God.