A gentleman whom I have come to admire from afar, David Solie, has started a blog and has a recent post that is just spot on. In this post he recognizes and educates boomers on the importance of paying attention to the impact their actions, no matter how small and insignificant, have on their aging parents and why.
Here is a quote and the link to the full post:
“…there are no “little” changes in the world of aging parents. Any action, throwing out old magazines, scheduling an appointment without telling them, or not including a sibling in what seems a minor decision can trigger a temporary “system shut down.”
Click here to read the full post.
Great stuff. I hope you enjoy.
Joe Freudenthal
Vintage Senior Living
St. Joseph, MO
I can certainly relate to David Solie’s Aging Parent Insights. Myself and 5 of my siblings recently tried to make changes for our aging mother that we thought would be good for her. Her reaction was “Stop trying to control me”! We found that her routine and the way she kept her house was the way it needed to stay for her happiness. Now if we felt that anything she was doing was detrimental to her we would have stood strong. But the changes we felt she needed were not really protecting her in anyway, just that we felt they would be better for her. Well we all learned a lesson, that throwing out that pile of magazines and cleaning out the closets or rearranging her furniture were not the answer. All mom wanted was the joy of her family and spending time with us before she passed. It was her home and her things, who were we to try to change her routine. I guess we felt we needed to do something for her, but it was really for us because we felt we had no control over that fact she was aging and very ill. Really evaluate what matters most before making any changes. Ask your parent what they want and what makes them happy. After all isn’t that what counts.