Never to young to start your addictions!

It truly is a Brave new world! As I sit at the bedside of those who were born before cars, before frozen foods, before toilet paper, before space travel, before the Internet, etc... before all the easy access to everything! I listen to their stories and frequently ask their opinions of all the changes, "was it really progress?", "was it worth the sacrifices?", "what was the most profound invention you have experienced?" and so on.... the responses are thrilling, surprising and so many times, absolutely hilarious. As they struggle to talk, I am able to access physicians, medications, other caregivers through my BlackBerry - my counterpart answers on theirs. I take a picture of the scene I am witnessing, they in turn, send the same from where they are. My LOL (Little Old Lady) asks "what have you there?" I show her her picture and she simply shakes her head .... then quietly adds "how the hell did I get so old and wrinkly?" and then bursts out laughing. She asks "where did you ever get such a contraption?" I tell her I've been using it for years and show her the picture of the baby with a phone - more hysterical laughter .... followed by more pain. More medication .... quiet .... difficulty breathing .... knowing glances .... and then quiet. profound silence. The family expresses their gratitude for making her laugh "we've always loved mom's laugh!" Many more stories ensue that paint a picture of a woman before the wrinkles, before gravity won, before toilet paper!
There can be great humor in the dying process especially as they utter wisdom from beyond this world. I am a lucky man to have the honor to witness the collisions of the generations, to hear the wisdom of those who have lived it, to hear the stories that are so private I have no business knowing them - and certainly not in any position to judge as I am privy to the failures (perceived) as well as the successes.
A short time ago, I knelt in a hospital room with a refugee family from a war torn country and listened to the stories that took the parents from both sides of the family in an extraordinarily violent manner. They were then (in their 30s) uprooted to a country, a culture, a people they struggled to understand - literally. As we removed the tubes and machines that sustained his life and he struggled for life (only 47 years of it), this noble woman lays her hand on my arm and offered words of comfort and encouragement to me!
I pray, when someone sits at my bedside (or, more likely, very much by myself) I will leave this life a honorably as those I witness daily.
So today, I choose my addictions, I enjoy my life, I am in awe of every single day. I try to live in the moment, not the past nor for tomorrow.