Assisted Living Cuero Texas

Many of us have traveled over the holidays, and a good many of us have spent time with aging parents.  If you don't live near your parents and/or if your visits home are few and far between, your holiday visit home may have started you thinking that you need to talk with your parents about aging.

Much too often, families ignore having honest conversation about hopes, concerns, and plans for the future.  But failure to plan doesn't mean that issues won't arise; in fact, failure to plan and think ahead really means that when issues do arise, dealing with them will be harder on everyone.   

You may be beginning to see changes in your parents that make you a little concerned.  You may have friends who discuss similar issues with you and they have caused you to think ahead.  Whatever may stir up concerns and perhaps even fears about addressing the problems that may come with aging, don't let those feelings go up-addressed.  But how do you begin to dive into this type of subject in a way that isn't upsetting to your love one/s?

 

Below are several conversation starters (my parents and my husband’s parents have said they were good lead-ins). Some of them we used after hearing a parent talk about a friend of theirs who was experiencing an aging crisis.

1. As you grow older and need extra support, how to you foresee me helping you?
2. If you get really sick and I need to pay some bills for you, can you show me where to find things and teach me what to do?

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I know.  What I'm suggesting isn't easy.  Dreading "The Talk" is common whether you're addressing sexuality with a pre-teen or aging with an elder adult.  Both conversations require honesty, grace, and a sense of timing.  Remember, the point of this particular conversation is to understand your loved one's wishes so that their needs are met.