I came across this wonderful article about how to transition into being the caregiver for your parents as you all age which of course moved me enough to write about it seeing as I like to write about change and preparing for it.
In the June of 2000, my father died after he had been diagnosed with lung cancer some two weeks earlier - it was shocking as you can no doubt imagine and it was also an epiphany for me. Life really, truly, seriously, is short. I learnt the hard way that there isn't time to dwell on the past and thereby not catch hold of the present properly nevermind not plan for the future properly.
Nowadays, with my mother at 63, I just don't get as annoyed as I used to. I make the time for her when she wants to talk to me no matter what it's about and I do the same for the other ageing relatives that I adore. I do it for everyone that I love actually because age isn't the only thing that causes people to be taken away from me or from anyone and I want to appreciate them.
I want them to know how grateful I am to have had the momenst with them that I have had. I want them to know how much they have affected me and impacted upon my life and most of all, I want them to know how much I love them. What shows love more than giving away your time?
Should my mother or anyone else in my life ever need me to take care of them as they age, I will do it, I will be proud to do it because it will be a sign of respect and it will be me loving them, as best I can. To be able to do that, I need to plan - just in case - though I know not one relative who would surrender their independance very easily. Hence my impressedness with the article - it details very nicely just how to do such planning.
Family Caregiving: Working Things Out At Work
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