I posted a story several weeks ago which examined the question of when is it time to take over the finances of a parent? (For the previous story click here.) My 88-year-old mother Ginny had been exhibiting behavior from putting the wrong checks into the wrong utility envelopes, pulling out checkbook pages and writing out … More Taking Over Your Parent’s Checkbook: One Fortunate Solution
Today started with a surprise phone call from Betsy. Betsy is my sister-in-law who has taken on the part-time job of driving my mom to appointments, the library, the grocery store etc. every week. She lives 15 minutes from my 88-year-old mother Ginny and my mother adores her. She’s been our godsend for about two … More Is It Time Now? A Story About Decision-Making for an Aging Parent
November, 2018 As I shop for holiday presents this year for my 88-year-old mother Ginny, I’m thinking differently. In the past, I have always gotten her a personal gift like jewelry or a new shirt, as well as a gift card so she can pick something out for herself. She has an eye for fashion … More An Aging Parent Gift: A Holiday Tail
I saw my first television holiday ad last night. It was for World Market. I’ve also already received a couple of snowy catalogs dotted with cheerfully wrapped presents on the cover. Normally, I would do an eye-roll, but this year, I felt relief. That’s because I knew that I was doing something a little different … More Aging Parent Present Ideas
I was online one morning, when I came across an interesting article titled “Handling Controlling Elderly Parents.” “Ha!” I thought half-jokingly. “Here’s my breakthrough guide to fix all of my control issues with my 89-year-old mother Ginny.” Very quickly, however, I wasn’t laughing. I was thinking. Hard. With some parents, an overly critical, authoritarian parenting … More Sudden Insights: Finding Mother-Daughter Answers
This story begins three years ago, when my then 86-year-old mother Ginny called, quite excited. “Have you seen anything on the news?” “About what exactly mom?” I respond. “Well, I think I’m a finalist and will win a lot of money!” she shared. “What are you talking about? What money?” I ask, my heart beating … More How Do You Control the Spending Habits of an Aging Parent?
In my last story, I shared how my mother Ginny’s best friend had given her an unexpected inheritance gift. She should be receiving that gift soon, and we remain grateful. It’s important, however, that we are responsible about how to manage the gift and dig into information regarding cash assets and how they relate, in … More Figuring Out VA Benefits and an Inheritance: Our Story
I remain in a funny place after returning from Ann’s service in Minneapolis. Ann was my mother Ginny’s oldest friend who had recently passed. (Here is a link to that story. In an unexpected development, this is Part 2.) As I had mentioned, the service and weekend spent with her family had held many emotional … More Reaching Out One Last Time – The Surprise Gift
This is going to be a tough one. We’ve just heard that my mother Ginny’s best friend Ann passed away yesterday. She was 90. Ann and Ginny’s friendship began 65 years ago when their future husbands met at college. They raised their families in the same suburb for many years. When my dad died at … More Saying Goodbye – The Story of a Friendship
Today I’m in the mood to pull the curtains back from a darkened room and find the joy. Living through aging parent experiences is draining, it goes with the territory, but witnessing pure joy sure brings in a lot of light. I found an example of just such a joy when reading a Glamour article … More Finding Joy in Your 80’s and 90’s
