Caring for Aging Parents

Walking Through Time In My Mother's Shoes

Melissa T. Shultz | Posted 05.03.2012

Melissa T. Shultz

I'm sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of my mother's closet. She's recovering from cancer surgery and I'm in cleaning mode -- my goal for the afternoon is to organize her shoes. From the very first pair, I become a kind of shoe-ologist, focused on learning as much as I can about who she is and the road she's traveled.

Final Curtain: A Mother's Day Love Story

Ted Sutton | Posted 04.30.2012

Ted Sutton

My mother may not know my name, but she knows my voice, and it triggers something within. She giggles girlishly. Then, I start a song, one from the old days, and she joins in. We have our own routine, our Alzheimer's Rag.

How To Divide An Inheritance

Reuters | Posted 04.26.2012

By Mitch Lipka April 25 (Reuters) - When an older relative dies, the family often finds itself with the stamp collecti...

Why Home Matters, Even -- Especially -- at the End

Liddy Manson | Posted 04.09.2012

Liddy Manson

She couldn't leave her bed at all during the final months, but the city came to her, one person at a time, to say goodbye in the room where they'd said so many hellos.

Reconsidering Today's Older Generation

Liddy Manson | Posted 05.15.2012

Liddy Manson

I now consider mid-70s as "prime of life." Women in their 70s take brisk walks in cute yoga pants, work out at gyms, and go zip-lining in the Amazonian Rain Forest.

Where Have All the Old People Gone?

Liddy Manson | Posted 04.02.2012

Liddy Manson

Where have they gone? And what does it mean for my kids that, apart from their grandparents, they just don't know any old people?

Long Distance Caretaking: Assisting Elderly Parents From Afar

AP | By MATT SEDENSKY | Posted 03.27.2012

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Kristy Bryner worries her 80-year-old mom might slip and fall when she picks up the newspaper, or that she'll get in an accid...

Becoming Our Parent's Parents

Maddisen K. Krown | Posted 02.17.2012

Maddisen K. Krown

For Thanksgiving this year, I went home to Connecticut to be with my family. The main theme for this week-long trip went way beyond the one day of festivities. I was primarily there to assist my ailing elder parents.

A Resolution for Future Holidays: Listen to and Learn From the Past

Liddy Manson | Posted 02.06.2012

Liddy Manson

I spend much of my life filled with regret that I don't see the people I love as much as I'd like, and that when I'm with them I don't pay as close attention as I should. A visit with a dear friend last weekend broke that pattern.

The Dilemma: Caring For Elderly Parents

Salon | Posted 11.28.2011

It has become the baby boom generation's latest and, in some ways, most agonizing life crisis: what to do when the parents who once took care of you c...

Goodbye Minivan, Hello Freedom: The Upside of Aging

Liddy Manson | Posted 12.25.2011

Liddy Manson

By and large I hate aging. The wrinkles under the eyes, the graying hair, the increasingly saggy skin, the ache in the foot that I know will never really get better. Everyone knows the drill.

How Do We Make 90 A Better 90 For Our Parents?

Liddy Manson | Posted 12.02.2011

Liddy Manson

This is the great challenge of the generation -- not just planning for our retirements, but caring for our parents who will live well into our retirements, and supporting each other as we all embark on our unique caregiving journeys.

A Million Questions That Need To Be Asked Of Our Aging Parents

Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs | Posted 09.05.2011

Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs

One of the Ten Commandments is to "obey" our parents. Well, what happens when we think that it is not in their best interest to continue living where they are living or we feel it is unsafe, and they disagree with us?

How Do You Talk To Your Parents About Aging?

Real Simple | Posted 08.15.2011

No one wants to discuss getting older. But try one of these techniques to break the ice and you’ll probably get Mom and Dad talking―and listening....

As Our Parents Age, We Boomers Must Work Together

Liddy Manson | Posted 11.17.2011

Liddy Manson

We're all grieving as we encounter the final years with a parent. As a generation, we might as well lock arms; we've got a big job ahead of us, and the only way we'll make it through is with teamwork.