[Myrddin]

Ouch. That's a hard way to learn about the value of a life insurance policy. Even a minimal policy would have made a big difference in your situation. My dad passed on in Dec 2003. It was an acute onset two days after Thanksgiving. He lingered and went downhill until Dec 17th. Unlike your situation, he had his funeral arrangements pre-paid. His Navy pension has sustained my mom...but won't forever. That unhappy sequence happened 27 years after I graduated. There won't be any rich uncle leaving big pots of gold for me either.

Finish those 6 classes. Your earning power will be greatly enhanced compared to others without the paper on the wall. My condolences on the loss of your father. Income is replaceable. The camaraderie and counsel of a parent is hard to replace.

[Terpfen]

Regarding the life insurance, he had a very small bit through his employer, but I’m sure he saw the whole thing as unnecessary: he was 72 (would have been 73 on the 7th) and saw himself as being around another 10-15 years. Thus, he planned for that scenario, rather than the event of an accident or any unplanned occurrence. He was stubborn like that.

I indeed plan to finish the classes up, but I won’t be able to head back to school until spring 2009. It ticks me off to no end: I graduated high school in spring 2002, for crying out loud. But at least the end is somewhere on the horizon.