The golden years......

Many of us have posted about either losing a parent or the transition of watching our parents grow older. My Mom passed way before her time so it wasn’t like I had to watch her transition into her golden years. My Dad however is a different situation. He is still alive but is well into his golden years and is beginning to show the signs of it’s time for a caregiver to step in.

Over the Memorial Day weekend my Dad was taken into the hospital because he was weak and dehydrated. Turns out he hadn’t been eating and had become disoriented. Thankfully someone at his senior citizen complex checked in on him and called 911.

I don’t live in the same state as my father but I have an older brother who does. So the burden now becomes his to figure out the next steps for our father once he is released from the hospital. I say burden not because my Dad is a burden but because he is very stubborn and most times refuses any assistance so this will be an uphill battle that my brother will have to face basically by himself since he is the only one living in the same state.

It’s that transition period where parents become the children and the children become the parents. The joke had always been that my Dad will probably out live us all but the reality is that he won’t. He is tired and he doesn’t want the help but he realizes his ability to get around has changed. Also, many of his friends have passed on and he is feeling very depressed.

Sooooo, how do you successfully get through this process when you are working with a dysfunctional family like many of us have? Well I’m praying and I’m trying to be there for my brother as much as I can. If anyone has suggestions or ideas or just wants to share their experience please do…..

Stiletto,
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women