Aging and Anxiety

Enough folks may know my story from the last four years. I was single, retired, "dropped-out", living in my Moms' house with my youngest brother. He had been in an "indigent" profession -- culinary work. As soon as he got his big break as a banquet chef in an historic hotel, he was diagnosed with osteo-arthritis and couldn't work anymore. He had already moved in with us. It wasn't but a few years afterward that I discovered that Moms as well as Bro would've had a hard time making ends meet without my money, and I'm grateful -- yes, grateful -- that they needed me and I sustained them. First, Bro died in Jan '22, and then Moms passed in Oct '23. From my experience in the first year, I was fairly confident I could live in this house and meet all my needs on a retirement that was cut short by five years when I accepted a 25-year early out offer. [They wanted to keep me, offering more money. I blew them off.] I still wonder how I made it through 2024 living here alone. It's... Read more