Like every other person old enough to give it any thought, I want to live in my own home for as long as I can. I also don’t want to be a burden on my children who will have to help make that possible. The trouble is, by the time we get that old we often don’t realize how difficult it is for our children to keep us at home safely. Even when they’re not here helping us, they worry about us.
During the last 10 of his 97 years, every time my father introduced me to someone, he always said, “This is my oldest daughter, Marti, and she manages all my finances!” He had six sons, so maybe it showed a bit of his old school nature that he pointed out it was me and not one of them who had taken on this task. He had made me co-executor of his estate along with my youngest brother, but he was very willing to have me take on the whole responsibility.
Some of us older folks were raised with the idea that it was shameful to turn the care of our aging parents or spouse over to someone else or even to ask for in-home help. Some of us even promise that they will never have to leave their home, a promise that was insisted upon by the same parents who told their children, “I never want to be a burden on my kids.” These two commitments are rarely compatible.
No! Not that “Good Word.” This blog post is not about religion. But I am writing it with a sense of missionary zeal for spreading the many compelling topics, helpful strategies and resources I learned about recently while attending the Symposium hosted by Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox, Aging with WISE Purpose: Improving Wealth, Independence, Security and Engagement. I left with a head and a notebook full of ideas for future blogs, but I just couldn’t wait to give you a taste of some of what were the highlights for me.
November is National Family Caregiver Month. Governor Cox has also declared November as Family Caregivers Month in Utah. Are you a family caregiver?