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An Aging Parent Gift: A Holiday Tail
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…
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Aging Parent Present Ideas
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…
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How Do You Control the Spending Habits of an Aging Parent?
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…
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Figuring Out VA Benefits and an Inheritance: Our Story
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…
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Reaching Out One Last Time – The Surprise Gift
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…
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Saying Goodbye – The Story of a Friendship
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…
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Finding Joy in Your 80’s and 90’s
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…
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Figuring Out Final Wishes and Helpful Tips
In an unusual coincidence, two different friends are holding memorial services today for a parent who passed away. One friend’s father died young at age 68 in Illinois and they returned to California with his ashes this weekend. The other friend’s mother died four days ago at age 100 and her service is in Pennsylvania.…
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Why There’s a Story Inside the Site Name
Since the launch of my blog, I have been asked a few times “why did you choose Leaving The Door Open for the site name?” For me, it fell neatly into a few categories. First, I wanted a well-known phrase for readers. It was possible it would be easier to remember and I was also…
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How To Hold Onto An Aging Parent’s Favorite Stories
I was visiting my 88-year-old mother Ginny one rainy afternoon and was doing her laundry. As I waited for two loads to go through the washer and dryer, and the storm continued outside, I decided to ask her an old question I had always been curious about. I was familiar with her childhood and being…
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