That’s absolutely wonderful! 

My best friend since high-school has been on and off sick for the past five years, but does *nothing* to prevent the sickness.  She developed COPD after living with a smoker for 15 years in an apartment with walls saturated with mildew. (I spent a night there when I was pregnant with my first child 18 years ago. It put my pregnancy into high risk for a week.  After that, I rented hotel rooms any time I visited.)  She is supposed to stay away from smoke, dust, and cat hair.  She should also should stay away from the public and work on a regular exercise routine- which will make her lungs happier campers.

She won’t clean house, but won’t hire a cleaner, and she has three cats. She won’t get a non-retail job:  Lots of dust, lots of public contact.   Her husband smokes in the house but they won’t buy an air cleaner, even though this would help immensely.  They do have lots of money.  She only works to provide their insurance- his income is much greater than hers.

But, conversations with her are now only about how she feels on a given day with her current infection based on over-exposure to dust, cat-hair, cigarette smoke or the public.  She’s 49.   I’m close enough.

What makes the organ grinding particularly ironic is that I’ve been severely asthmatic for most of my life.  I, too, have finally developed COPD.  But, my quality of life is very good as I do everything I’m supposed to.   I almost never talk about when I can’t breathe easily.   It’s *not* an interesting topic of conversation. 

So, I applaud you for keeping your conversations with your friends about topics of mutual interest!

Mind you, other girl friends and I are heading into peri-menopause. We do talk about it, but it’s more checking on data points.

Cheers,

Constance

Joan, I loved your answer and I will surely borrow the "organ recitals" line.

Unfortunately I have become the boring friend with the "Alzheimer Rhapsody". After 12 years of caregiving looks like my brain is saturated with only this topic. Pitty my friends. I do try to avoid that kind of conversation but it is all consuming.

Now I do tell the same to the doctors, they have heard it all a thousand times and they just keep track with notes on their pad and shake their heads. It does not truly matter to them to hear my secrets, they can write books about it all.