[InJoy]

Great, thought-provoking article. Thanks, Steve.

I wish I could say I'm where Steve is on the subject, but I'm just not right now. I cannot say (with any conviction) that I am ready to die. I have a young child for whom I dearly desire to complete the process of raising to adulthood.

With all of my other goals and aspirations, even the big ones, I can imagine having a feeling of slight disappointment at having not completed them. The idea of leaving my little child without a mother, though, feels unbearable to me.

Equally unbearable is the idea of my child and husband dying and leaving me behind. If they were to go, I think I'd want nothing more than to go with them. I admire the ideas another poster put up about that gal who accepted the pending death of her children. I wish I knew how to do that. Whenever I even get close to the idea, I recoil from the pain of the mere thought.

I'm not afraid of my own death in general. In fact, I'm very curious about it. Before my child was born, I felt perfectly ready to go at any time. Funny how a little child can change all the rules by which I thought I lived.