My mother, at the age of 91, had a severe stroke in late October. Although she had some initial recovery, the damage to her brain was too great, and in the following weeks, she became less and less responsive. My sisters and I moved Mom from the hospital rehab to a nursing home and then finally to hospice, where she passed away on November 18. The family will have a memorial service for her in the spring.
Because of her advanced age and the many, many medical problems and pains she had been suffering for some time, her passing was not unexpected, and was, in some ways, a blessing.
The loss of a loved one reminds us of the inevitability of death but also the opportunity of life. A death renews our appreciation of the things that make life worth living. In my mother’s last days, even though she was left nearly speechless from the stroke, she seemed to take pleasure in: the warm sunny day when we took her out to the garden, the pink rosebud we picked for her, the fish she watched in an aquarium, the Béarnaise Mountain Dog she petted, the encouragement and kindness of the nursing staff, and the hugs and words of love from her daughters and grandchildren.
Beginnings of new stages in life are also a time to think about what makes life worth living. That’s why I want to tell you about the “Semester Theme” at the University of Michigan. Instead of everyone reading one book as SMU students did, Michigan had students engage with a single question: “What makes life worth living?”
Students were invited to share their ideas and reflections on what, for them, gives meaning to life—and why that question is a good one for students to think about as they begin a college education. An even better time to think about it might be the end of the first semester, when papers, exams, deadlines, (and for me, grading) take over our attentions. Do you think the University of Michigan theme was a good idea? How would you answer the question?
