#Grief

#R.I.P.:Grieving My Dog Offline is a moving essay in the NY Times by a Yale student, Spencer Bokat-Lindell     

When I joined Facebook in 2007, my first profile picture was a photograph of Ginny and me lying next to each other on my living room floor.

To make an R.I.P. post about Ginny was to secure her a spot in the chronicle of my life, to recognize — in words and pictures — that she mattered.

For the rest of the world, it seemed, my grief wasn’t real until it could be screenshot.

Spencer's beautifully written pense gives insight into the mindset of some digital natives and opens up many, many avenues for thought. For me, at least, it was not to be skimmed.

On Poodles, Wills and Attorneys

Jane Brody’s column in the NY Times is often worth reading.  This week it is devoted to updating one’s will.  While, this may not be pertinent to a younger crowd, even twenty-year olds may benefit from it if they occasionally interact with senior citizens.

“My elder care lawyer raised a skeptical eyebrow when I explained that the inspiration to update everything was my dog. I might as well review all the paperwork, I told him: the power of attorney, the health care proxy, the living will, a codicil here and there, the list of friends’ children who had always been my beneficiaries.”

TheFuture Revisited.  NY Times, December 29, 2014