In times of financial uncertainty, we often find ourselves burdened with non-financial issues. Trying to make ends meet somehow brings about a whole host of other challenges that sometimes seem unrelated to financial stress.
And yet it’s all related. As I said in my last post, we’re facing a demographic tidal wave of change. Our parents are aging. And more than ever, they’re in our lives, much as we used to be in their lives as children.
They phone us. They phone us again. We’re so busy – due to financial strain, if you recall – that we get annoyed, and ask them if we can call them back later…then we forget to call them. As we age, we get busier, and as our parents age, they are naturally disappointed in our failure to give them the care and support they need.
They need us to help them with home maintenance, they need us to teach them how to use technology, they need us to advocate for them in the healthcare system…their needs are overwhelming, and completely valid.
Through all this, we need to continue to deliver support to our parents with love and respect.
It’s time for us to step up, come of age and develop care and support programs for the elderly in our own communities. They need us to help them age with grace AND in place.
We each know what value we can bring to increasing the quality of life of the elders in our community. The more that we give the more we receive.
Think about the big picture the next time you see a senior member of our community struggling with their own stresses of everyday life. It’s not much different from our own juggle, but the difference is that we have the capabilities to relieve them.
I think it’s within us all to do that. Let me know your thoughts from your own experience with an elderly loved one.