I’ve been working hard to get set up for AEP. That’s the season when Health Insurance Agents basically run around losing their minds and sleep, trying to fit a year’s work into just under 2 months.
It’s hectic, but generally energizing. Some years, circumstances put roadblocks in the way – as COVID-19 did for us, in 2020 and 2021. Masking created a barrier to communication, many interactions were pushed in the virtual realm, and frustrations escalated.
The plan providers rose to the challenge. They created software and workarounds in blazingly short timeframes. They impressed the heck out of me.
But this year brought a special challenge. A dear cousin died last month, and, due to several moves (on her part and mine), we’d lost contact. I only heard about her passing yesterday. she was five years younger than I am, and way too young to die.
There will be a memorial service, one they are calling a Celebration of Life, in November. The time delay is likely due to the challenge of getting together such a large group. She was one of ten children – two others since passed – and they live in multiple states.
My kids reacted much as I did when I was a child and heard of the passing of one of my mother’s many relations like many of Irish Catholic descent, her family was large and close. To me, it was sad. To her, it was yet another death of someone connected to pieces of her youth. Each death tore a hole in her memories and connection to family.
My gift to family this year will be to provide links to family photos and stories. My brother and sister and I have been scanning old photos, writing the information (who, what event, when, where) and attaching the description to the file. It was a massive project, but the majority of the work is done. I’d love for others in the family to set up folders for their branch of the family tree, and add their own photos.
