Baby Boomers Now Parenting their Parents

Remember when we could go to Mom or Dad for everything? From the time we were little they were always there for us. It was just an accepted thing. Most of our holidays were planned by Mom who usually made too much out of everything and expected us all to be there, even if we wanted to do something else. Then there was Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Birthdays and on and on. Gee Mom's have lots of reasons to have their children visit.

My parents were always available if we wanted to stop by for a visit, or call them on the phone to chat for a few minutes. It was nice, even if we didn't agree on everything, which was most of the time. I didn't realize just how much my mother was involved in my life until after she was gone.

The last 3 years of her life were very tough on me. And her too. The first two of those years every hour away from my Nursing job, I spent either in the doctors office, lab, hospital, pharmacy, grocery store and seeing to all the details I could to help Mom remain independent in her own home for as long as possible. This was a time when my mother needed me, so I was there and took care of her.

It seems like in the blink of an eye and while we weren't paying attention our parents turned 70 or 80 years old. And with that age comes so many changes. Life isn't so easy for them anymore and it's getting more and more challenging for us Baby Boomers too. I remember my Mom saying "they shouldn't call old age the golden years, they should call them the rust years. There isn't anything Gold about them." Bless her heart, she went through so much!

Baby Boomers, myself included, are at a time when retirement is number one in our plans. However, some of us have to postpone that because of a severe illness not of our parents, but of the economy. Foremost on our minds today might be how are we going to afford to retire?

Maybe you're concerned about your parents who may have an illness, the beginning of dementia, are falling a lot and not safe or just not able to care for themselves any longer. This is when we step in and reverse rolls. Now we become the parent to our parents. I found this true even though my Mom did not have dementia or Alzheimers. Her illness took so much energy out of her, she just couldn't remember things. Important things, like what the doctor told her to do with her medications and when. Or whether or not she paid a bill. What do parents do? Make sure things get done and sometimes they did it for us. Now it's our turn.

I had an advantage being in the healthcare field. This is a tough course to navigate but you need to know that there is lots more help for you today than there was in the past. Assisted Living is offering Seniors and Families lots more choices today.

Being a caregiver to a parent is a tough job, even for nurses. Those family dynamics that are in every family seem to make the situation worse. Being a caregiver to your parent is a noble thing to do, however it's ok if you're not able to physically do it yourself. Because now you have a great many options to choose from and you can have your parent close and well cared for. If you are the caregiver to your parents you also have help and support available and I encourage you to reach out and grab some.

Please let us know what your needs are and what problems or challenges you are facing that you'd like some help with. Our goal is not to be an only source but to offer you lots of valuable resources as well to help you and your parents through this tough time.