May God bless and hold his sweet soul.

You're lucky. I'm in Bengals country, and I don't give a fig for football.

Well, I'm happy everyone else is happy re the Bengals finally making the play-offs.
And I guess a number of businesses are doing well as a result.

But, I find all the talk - b o r i n g.

Don't these dummies think through the consequences of their actions beforehand?

For every action there is a consequence.
You get to choose to act or not act beforehand...

I also woke up with panic attacks, when I was younger.

I did some of the same things you did to distract myself, including prayer and preparing for death.
I haven't had one in quite a while.
I believe two things helped me:

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and have used a CPAP nighty for ca 17 years. Struggling for air was, I believe, one of the causes of my sudden awakening with feelings of dread and hyper-awareness of heartbeat and pains.

I've aged so that the thought of calling for help, going to an emergency room and being sent home when nothing of import is found - all that is more than I can handle, and I'd rather wait out the incident than go through that rigamarol.

Should the spouse have to change career because of the congressperson's occupation?

In the US in the 21st century, each person's occupation is considered separate from the partner's, for obvious reasons. - 1 reason being the fragility of marriages/partnerships.
Most people would say common respect for the individual would allow each to have his/her own career without being affected by a partner's occupation.
We know that there has been no real pushback on Justice Thomas' wife Ginny re her political causes.
Why should public service have some level of sacrifice? Is it not enough to give the hours of one's life in (relatively lowpay) service? How much sacrifice is necessary to satisfy that belief?
Sometimes the appearance of impropriety is in the eye of some beholders but not in others.
If a person is truly honest and moral, how far does one have to go to appease the naysayers?

Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, was a very successful business man before Nancy

ran for election. His business included investments in Property in what became Silicon Valley. She also came from a MD family that had business interests as well as the well-known political involvements. The family wealth was more than average throughout her life.
One can have wealth and be a moral person.
All wealth is not obtained by immoral means.

A family member who knows of Paul Pelosi through a club membership in San Francisco reports that Pelosi did not flaunt his money or political advantage; in other words, Paul Pelosi seemed to be a decent moral person who kept a low profile politically, etc.
The dilemma is excluding a person from public office whose business is primarily in financial trading, etc.

Is that really a good idea?

Might those people have good ideas and good morals as well?
I believe Diane Feinstein's husband is also a financier or similar. Whether or not he has profited from her position I do not know, but if he was in that business when she entered politics, must he give up his career?

I am not a Californian and do not know all the intricacies of CA politics, so those closer to these people and their issues may have better information than mine.

Location that is most convenient for you to get to when needed or to assure that all is well.

I also concur that a non-profit is best, but be aware that some non-profits are being sold to for-profit companies.
Most nursing facilities have taken a financial hit these last two years, as more was required of them and staffing became more difficult.
You know from their age that their physical situations can change at any time.

We are made for order. There is order in the universe.

Order in our lives frees us.
When we are thus free, we can enjoy/appreciate the large and the small present in our lives.
We can relax.
We can breathe freely.

Spoken by one for whom the energy to make life orderly is a constant struggle.

Congratulations!

Erie Ave. in the Madisonville section of Cincinnati.

Source of much hilarity.
Routinely hit despite signs, lights, etc.

Not sure why you believe Mandel will be the R Senate candidate in Ohio.

You may be correct, but Vance and Timken and at least 2 other also-rans are running a lot of ads.
Mandel is thoroughly unlikeable.
If he is the R candidate, Ryan has a greater chance of winning.