So many losses... Prose, Gumby, Audrey, Bill, no doubt others... my sympathies. The kind of losses you all describe are world-changing. The world looks outwardly the same the next day, but all the underpinnings have shifted in a way no one else can see.
In keeping with this thread’s theme of “appreciate the ones close to you while you can, appreciate your own time because you don’t know how long it will last, and consider prioritizing a more meaningful life over work if the numbers support it” - will put one more consideration out there for folks:
Folks naturally tend to think about the limits to their own lifespan... but the same unpredictability of fate applies to your spouses (parents, friends, etc.) too. Even if you live a long life, your spouse may not, and that will be world-changing for your retirement. One more reason not to delay too long.
As a personal data point... always thought we’d manage at least a few of the fabled “golden years” of retirement... those years when you’re both relatively healthy, relatively wealthy, maybe even a little wise, and at least able to appreciate your good fortune. Then DW was diagnosed with EOAD (early onset Alzheimer’s disease). You do not want this to happen to your world. We still manage to find some good in the time that remains... but it is drastically different than we had hoped for. Not that it changes the retirement plans in and of itself... the numbers are always the numbers... but the condition puts a fine point on not overstaying one’s time in the corporate world.
It’s good to remind oneself periodically that, for all of its seeming daily sameness, life is contingent, temporary, unpredictable. It can change quickly, not only for oneself, but for loved ones, and that will change one’s entire world. Good to appreciate what you have, while you have it, and not assume it will last forever - or really, for any length of time at all. Good to assess what will look like time well spent, today, if the world changes tomorrow.
