Singing Christmas carols, lighting Hanukkah candles, roasting chestnuts by a roaring fire – things most of us will be doing in the next few weeks. This is also the time of year when we see parents and other aging loved ones that we may not see the rest of the year. You may be surprised […]
In last month’s article, “7 (Non-Financial) Tips to Saving the Family Fortune” we looked at what family fortune means to you and your family. Understanding this is important because when families get involved with caregiving and difficult decisions need to be made, all kinds of sibling issues can come up from who should bear the […]
How do you define “family fortune”? Most people say money but that\’s not the only thing you\’re “rich” in. “Family fortune” can mean anything from collections such as spoons and stamps to photographs, written material (bible, poems, diaries, letters), documents or records (marriage certificates, awards, military discharge papers), handmade items (quilts, needlework), antiques/art, jewelry, even […]
September . . . the start of a new year! Sure, I know people think January 1st is the start of the new year but September and a new school year always marked a fresh new beginning for me. I loved going back to school . . . . Seeing old friends; meeting new ones; […]
As I said last month, emergency evacuations are devastating and traumatic under any circumstances. This is especially true for the elderly – especially the elderly with pets. Last month I wrote about planning for major emergencies such as 9/11, Katrina, wild fires, floods, or tornado\’s. This month I\’m going to cover a far more likely […]
Janice writes . . . My mother lives near me and my husband and demands my constant attention. No matter where I am or what I\’m doing she drops in to my house or calls. Last summer my husband and I took my 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren to Disneyworld for a week. I really […]
Yup . . . it\’s true! May is “Older American\’s Month”. To give you an idea of how powerful we are as a group – we don\’t just get a day . . . we get a whole month! Impressive! What are you doing to celebrate our month? I was recently told that, as a […]
If you\’ve been reading my past columns, you know that I always say that for the best results, talk early and often with your aging loved so you can resolve your eldercare issues by choice, not crisis. The earlier you start talking, the easier it is to get plans in place. The better the planning, […]
It\’s virtually impossible to accurately predict the extent or length of the commitment to eldercare but for many caregivers, it\’s a lot longer than they ever imagined. In fact, in last month\’s column, I mentioned an interview with Roberta Satow for my Expert Interview Series (http://agewiseliving.com/shop-expert_interviews.htm), in which she talks about caregiving as “a stage […]
I was in a card store and a woman standing next to me was buying a huge stack of Valentine\’s Day cards. I watched for a while as she picked a bunch of cards for friends, as well as cards for her husband, her mother, her father, her mother-in-law, her father-in-law, her children, her grandchildren, […]
