u/RetiredSurvivor

I vision in my head living in a tiny home, but not just any tiny home. This plan in my head and in my dreams shows me a tiny home without wheels placed on top of a basement foundation. This tiny house would exist on just 1/8th of an acre.

The 1/8 acre lot would allow plenty of room for micro gardening. There will be a section of the property for south facing solar panels. The property is completely fenced in to keep wild animals out. 

The basement foundation will serve several purposes. A propane heater with a/c evaporator which feeds air vents throughout the house. Several I Beams support the house creating a strong shelter from potential hurricanes. 

The house itself would be only one floor in structure and be built the minimum size that code allows with an attached garage. A large deck/porch screened in to keep the bugs out with a side deck for grilling. Two small bedrooms is all I need and a single bath. The kitchen is large enough for a full size fridge, but small enough to not feel overwhelming. 

Could this actually become a reality? I don’t know, but it is fun to dream about.

My primary care physician sent my pharmacy a prescription for a (CGM) Continuous Glucose Monitor. The pharmacy wanted to pay full price because they don’t work with Medicare. They suggested that I have the prescription sent to CVS, which I did. CVS told me that Medicare denied the claim because I wasn’t on insulin. It seems to me that when a patient tries to do things to be healthier they are denied. This makes no sense to me as a healthy patient has less ailments and disease which is less cost to the Medicare system. Do they prefer that my Type 2 Diabetes gets worst to the point that I will need insulin? Is our system that broken?

You make through all of the struggles for most of your life. The tough jobs, the crazy marriages and raising a family. Life is challenging with the people you love stepping into drug addiction and psychiatric issues. Life was not easy but you find your way through.

After two divorces I came to the point in my life where I just wanted to give up on sharing my life with another. I lived alone for about two years and was content in where I was in my life, so I thought. I started dating a good friend at work and we both discovered that we had more in common than we thought. Friendship quickly turned into love and together we lived out our dreams. We went camping along beautiful rivers, hiked some of the most mountains this country had to offer and had our morning coffee sitting beside the roaring ocean upon sunrise. This pattern went on for many years as we travelled to witness many of our grandchildren birth’s, and spent quality time with family and friends. When we couldn’t get away you would find us locally mountain biking in local area’s on the weekends. Life was brilliant and exciting. 

But the cycles of life never guaranteed that this bliss would last forever. It’s been about 5 years now since my beautiful bride started getting sick. A slow pattern of cognitive decline was sprung upon her that changed our lives in a different direction. As she suffers, I suffer too at her side to care for her needs. It is a challenge that I never thought would come my way, but here it is and here we are. Our dream in our retirement was to purchase a motorhome and set out to visit every National Park throughout the country. Obviously this never happened as we are now trapped in our small retirement community living out the final years of our lives in quiet desperation. 

I’ve lived my life as the warrior. You know, the one always ready for a new challenge to take on. The problem solver who can find an answer to pretty much any issue which needs to be addressed. I was the protector of the weak and the defender and helper to those less fortunate. It was a proud role that I took on with confidence and pride. 

While the warrior inside of me still lives today I have learned that not every problem in life has a solution. I now believe that there is a certain amount of suffering, that while not comfortable, eventually brings on a lesson of learning. I live out my life one day at a time and put in my best effort and still celebrate all of the good years that I have been granted in sharing my love and life with my bride. Seeing pictures of our past adventures brings out that spirit inside me that sometimes I believe I’ve lost. This spirit ignites me to cherish this love that I’ve found that illness can never take away from me. 

Does anyone else us the app GLUCOSE on their iPhones? I've used it for years and this is the first time I can't get it to work. I keep getting the message that it is importing from APPLE HEALTH then locks up. My phone gets hot and the battery drains.

Has anyone gotten rid of all of their physical books and switched over to just reading on Kindle or Apple Books?

I started this project many years ago and managed to get my book collection down to just 20 books. The lucky 20 sits on a shelf collecting dust and I never touch them. These are the types of books that when I first read them I knew I wanted to save them for future reference. The truth is I never touched them again. Recently I placed them all in a box and set them aside for possible donation. 100% of my reading now is either on my iPhone or iPad.

Ultimately we all have the ability to make the choice of being happy vs not being happy. The external world can only have control over your emotions if you allow it. Many say the lack of money doesn’t allow for happiness, but I’ve met some of the poorest people in the world and they were still happy.
What makes you truly happy?

My wife and I moved into a 55+ community 3 years ago and I’ve tried getting on board with forming new relationships with other retired folks. I find that I have no shared interests with most of them. I don’t like playing board games, I don’t watch TV or sports, I don’t eat out. I am still into learning and self development, especially when it comes to my health. I do a lot of reading. I despise any type of drama or negativity. I can’t say I haven’t tried to fit in, I just don’t. What the hell do I do?