So, How Old Is Too Old?

 Irrigation had it's hitches this rotation, not just coz it came at like 3:30 in the Morning, but, coz I forgot to Wake Up and help The Daughter, she did her best doing it alone and in the pitch dark.  But, the debris floating downstream clogged up again at where our next door Neighbor Omar has his Ditch covered, so The Son had to Snake that before he went to Work coz it was flooding our Pasture.  But, the Front Yard where the Pump feeds Water on the East Side of the Front and the very Front where our Pine Trees are, didn't get enuf Water before The Daughter got Tired, unplugged the Pump and went to Bed to get some Sleep.  So, I had to turn it on again for 1.5 Hours to get enuf Water for that portion of the Property and the amount of Water we are supposed to take on so we don't Flood Neighbors downstream of us by not taking on all our Water assigned to us.  We did get it resolved tho' by 7:00 a.m..  *Whew*  It can sometimes get complicated depending upon what happens unexpectedly.

In Real Time it's The Son's 40th Birthday and a Monday, we'll be taking him out for a Birthday Luncheon at "Crab 99" after he gets off Work at Noon.  We have that Pound of Free Shrimp Won last time, we'll get a bucket of more of their dual flavor of Buffalo Wings... and then whatever each of the Family wants to order.  With his Birthday falling at EOM when we're most financially Tapped Out, it's all we can do for his Birthday as a Family.  But, he's okay with that.  His Midlife Crisis is easing up some as he wraps his Head around turning another Decade Older.  I think if things were going better for him it would have been a non-issue.  But, he lost his Career due to the Owner of the Company Dying and the Widow deciding to Sell it to an Asset Stripper and lay everyone off.  He's living with his Elderly Parents coz Rent isn't affordable.  He doesn't have an operational Vehicle and his License has some restrictions due to a DUI he got a few Years ago.  He's satisfying all the Court's Terms and didn't catch a Felony Charge at least. 

  But he's Single and not Dating right now coz he said who wants to Date a Guy whose 40 and has nothing to offer?  Plus, tho' he's liking his new Job and grateful to finally get one after a Six Month Unemployment Crisis coz nobody was really Hiring, it's only part time and minimum Wage at a Dollar Store, so, he's Underemployed.  That's the American dilemma for a lot of Working Folks right now, not Unemployment, but, Underemployment and yet nobody is Talking about it and they should be.  Americans shouldn't have to be taking on 2-3 Jobs to make a Livable Wage to afford just the Essentials, plus doing Gig Work on the Side too.  I see so many Working Folks the Ages of my Adult Children and Adult Grandchildren being Uber Drivers and Delivery Drivers just to get by.  I even see a fair amount of Seniors doing that or having to take on Minimum Wage Jobs to supplement a Fixed Income just to afford Essentials or their Medical Bills and Medications, they'll have to Work now 'til they Die.

I know our Ends barely meet now so I have to be Creative and Work my Hustle to ensure everything is Paid, on Time, and with something left over to enjoy Quality of Life and not just Exist barely.  You don't wanna run out of Money in your Old Age, but that's a distinct possibility for a lot of Seniors now, their Retirement isn't gonna sustain them if they Live too long and outlive the Retirement Income they set up for when they couldn't Work anymore or didn't want to and thought they'd get to Enjoy their Retirement Years and do stuff they had on their Bucket Lists.  To be sure, some folks are.  I know Retirees who are going on their 60th Cruise and take several a Year, Traveling the World in Style.  Their Health has held up and they either did well when they were Working, or, and, they have a Side Hustle that works out really well for them.  The Cruising Couple Breeds a Miniature Pedigree Breed of Dogs.   They seem to Breed their Dogs a lot, I feel somewhat conflicted about Dog Breeders doing it for maximum Profit, coz there's so many unwanted Dogs desperately needing Adoption at Shelters and being euthanized.

I don't know what Ethical Standards are used and enforced for Breeding Pets for Profit?  Thus I remain conflicted about the Practice... how often is too often to make a Dog produce Offspring if you're making a lot of Money off of it?  At what point is it a Puppy Mill?  They have a steady stream of Puppies they've bred and can charge Thousands per Pup for.  If you have the desired Trending Breeds of Pedigree Dog, it's very lucrative.  Folks will spend $5,000-$10,000+ for a single Puppy!!!  I know, that's insane to me, but if it's Elite Quality Lines of Dogs, and high demand, I guess you have that Client Base willing to shell out that much!  And I know the Cruising Couple gets about 5+ Pups per Litter and have more than One Breeding Female, so the Math adds up quick!!!  But I don't presume to know anything about Dog Breeding or the Ethics of it.

  They seem like Responsible folks and they are Vendors at our Antique Mall who Sell high Quality Merch, and she does Hair, he is an accomplished Silversmith and Sings in a C&W Band, so they've got their Side Hustles in Retirement going Strong and I wanna be them when I Grow Up.  *Bwahahahaha*  Many Streams of Income can have you living your Best Life, for sure.  Of coarse 60 Cruises to me sounds like an excess, but mebbe it's like Vegas where the Frequent Gamblers get Comped about as much as they wanna accept, from the Casinos that know they're Whales?

  Mebbe Cruise Lines do the same thing, with Loyalty and/or Casino Programs earning you Freebies and even Complimentary Trips, I dunno, never been on a single One.   And a lot of the Cruise Lines lately have had some major setbacks with Epidemics breaking out on Ship, serious accidents like people falling overboard, and equipment failures or fires on Ships, severe Weather damage, Wildlife Strike Investigations, Food Borne Illnesses, it makes the News a lot lately.  Even some Murders and Deaths of Passengers have happened, whether on Ship or at Ports visited and on Excursions.  Viking, Virgin and Crystal Cruise Lines have the best Safety, Personal Security and Cleanliness Records to date.   The Budget Lines have the worst Records... which, I guess you get what you pay for... and, some of the Lines that have 5,000+ Passengers I've heard can be chaotic, coz, that is just a lot of folks in one Space Sharing Services and keeping up with the demands of.  Most people I know who are Cruise Addicts having nothing but Good to say and Share about their Experiences tho'.

We did have other Birthdays this Month, this Great-Granddaughter who lives in Pittsburgh, turned Seven, my how Time Flies!   We've got Middle Aged Grandkids and Great-Grandkids now attaining a speeding maturity that I can't quite keep up with or keep tabs on.   I'd need a Spreadsheet to keep track of all the Birthdays now.   With the Great-Grandkids I don't know all their Birthdays, or even all their Names, until I'm reminded by the Grandkids, it was enuf to keep track of Grandkid's Birthdays and Names once you get a certain amount of them.  *LOL and Winks*  This one's Name I do remember coz it's unusual and I'd never heard it before, tho' perhaps it's popular for her Generation coming up?  Her Younger Sister got Named after a Dead Great-Great Grandmother, so has an Old Lady Name. 

 And Honestly, I felt really Bad saying to The Man, when that Great-Granddaughter was Born, Why did they give her such an Old Lady Name, Honey?  I haven't heard anyone with that Name under the Age of 80 or 90!!!  *Smiles & baffled*  Well, then when he said it was the recently departed Maternal side's Great-Great Grandma of the Newborn of the Granddaughter who just had said Child, I felt Guilty and Awful for saying what I did!  It was his Ex's Mother's Name, his previous MIL!  *Oooops!*  It is an Old Lady Name tho' and the Great-Grandchild whose named after the Departed Old Lady is only just Graduated from Kindergarten.  Of coarse I don't think any of her peers EVER will have that Name... that Name fell out of Popularity in the 1920-1930 Era!  And I'm not certain it was all that Popular even back then?!?  *Smiles*  Above is said Little One Carrying and Saddled with an Antique Name for Life.  It might make her Tough, who knows?  *Bwahahahaha*

The one that just turned Seven looks SO MUCH like our Oldest Daughter when she was this Age, that it's like she's been Cloned!!!   None of our Oldest Daughter's Three Girls looks this much like her, so it skipped a Generation and now she's got a Clone in this Grandchild.  *Smiles*  The one with the Old Lady Name looks exactly like our Granddaughter did at that Age tho', so she's her Mama's Clone.  Their Little Brother, whose the Youngest in the Family, looks more like his Oldest Sister.  Once The Granddaughter got The Son they wanted, she and Hubby shut the Baby Factory Down... so no more!  *Smiles*  They are Middle Aged tho' so it was the right time to, you don't wanna be still having Children as you near 40 or you'll be that Senior Citizen Aged Parent at the High School Graduation.  *Bwahahahaha*  

 And as Grandparents who were that Age and Raising a 2nd Generation of some of our Grandkids, it's not 'Natural' to be still Raising Kids when you get that Old and why Old Women are no longer Breeding.  Now, Old Men on the other hand...  *Huge Eye Roll*    But you better have that much Younger Trophy Wife bearing them for ya, coz an Aging Woman don't wanna be still having and Raising Children close to Menopause.  I was 28 when I had my Youngest, The Son, and I felt that was too damned Old and shut the Baby Factory Down!!!  *Ha ha ha and an Eye Roll*   And an appropriate Size of Family is highly subjective and can even be controversial one way or the other.  I've known people who choose to remain Childless getting pressured to have Kids... and people who have a very large Family be condemned for having too many.  And just coz you can have Kids doesn't mean you should, some folks aren't up to the Job of Parenting.  To me it's personal and none of my business how many Kids someone does or does not have.  So long as I'm not expected to Raise them... *Winks*

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And we may have a difference of Opinion, but, so, how Old is Too Old for some things my Friends?

Dawn... The Bohemian