What You Need To Do Before Your Parents Get Any Older

Growing up, I thought it was weird my friends didn’t live with their grandparents. Who was gonna bust out the cookie tin that really held the sewing kit or light the Virgin Mary candles? Life was a mystery. It didn’t really occur to me until I was older that not everyone lived in a multigenerational household like me. For some people, it was a treat to see their grandparents and for me, it was my norm.

While I don’t live at home anymore with my family, it always occurs to me in the back of my mind that one day my dad might come to live with me. I mean, who else is going to listen to me make weird engine sounds when I break something on my car or help me when my cat, I mean future kids.

Life Has Plans… Then God Laughs

This past February, my dad had a stroke. He recovered, THANK GOD, but it was still terrifying. We were held up in a local hospital and I’ll never forget arguing with a nurse while I was entering data on a laptop in the dark while my dad slept. That was one of the real defining adult moments that made me realize my dad could be gone at any time. And questions still needed to be asked. Like, where was he going to live if one day he couldn’t work anymore? Did he even want to live with me? What did HE want anyways?

The fact your parents are getting older IS scary. They are supposed to live forever and always be there. But one day they can be and then the next their not. I wanted to share the experience I had and the questions that are important to ask before that day comes. It’s gonna not make the hurt any less when the time comes but it will help streamline confusion and allow you to grieve instead of putting out any fires.

Let me know what you think and if there are any important questions you think we should add. Parents aging is tough but familia is important so we need to be as prepared as possible.