Death and Taxes

Of that morbid title comes the reflection, "if your still paying taxes you are not dead". As we take our first faltering steps into this retirement part of life I have been struck by how much the continued taxation of my post retirement benefits and taxation of my savings withdrawals.

This has messed up all my projection planning and budget worksheets. One wonders if it were possible for the rising population of seniors to stage some sort of mass tax revolts for the purpose of limiting the spending and demand for tax dollars on the middle income seniors.

Meanwhile we wonder if we are enjoying total freedom of time or would enjoy part time work to make this all working more smoothly.

Back to the death part, morbidly speaking. It's time for my annual stress test and hopes that whatever is causing the random narrowing of my arteries might be slowed down or stopped by the end of ministry stress and the continued care shown by our diet choices and exercise. I have failed five years in a row, earning what one of the doctors assistants what he called a near bionic artery filled with metal.

Surprisingly, I spend little time thinking this negatively, preferring to enjoy each day as a gift to be together in a lovely place filling our day with conversation, continued learning, and involvement with friends and family.