Preserving Stability Archives - Aging, caregiving and the journey through the second half of life

Middle Age + Caregiving: Three Mind Maps

March 21, 2019

Middle age is daunting for everyone, especially caregivers. There are so many moving and complicated parts that can quickly overwhelm the best intentions or the most efficient management skills. One of the biggest mistakes I see middle age caregivers make…

New Publication: Middle Crossing

July 2, 2018

This is the cover of the first edition of a new publication I created for advisers about their client’s journey through middle age. I will be releasing it later on this month. Each edition will have a foundational article, two…

Unavoidable Currents of Middle Age

June 17, 2018

Below is a list of the currents that swirl around the lives of middle age adults producing unchecked volatility, suffocating transaction density and deep exhaustion. It reminds us that middle age caregivers are being stretched to the limit in all…

Lost the path that does not stray…

May 15, 2018

“When I had journeyed half our life’s way, I found myself within a shadowed forest , for I had lost the path that does not stray.” Dante…

Aging In Place Inventory

February 11, 2018

This five-factor inventory is designed to help families and advisors better understand the sustainability issues of older adults who are aging in place. Each factor of the inventory is assessed as either green, orange or red based on an estimation…

Why Would An Aging Parent Say That?

April 4, 2017

A reoccurring theme in caregiver support groups is disparaging and derogatory comments made by aging parents to their adult children who are struggling to do the right thing. Voicing anger and bitterness about how their life has turned out, these…

Aging Parents Dance Cards

December 2, 2016

Introducing “Aging Parents Dance Cards,” which were created for adult children of aging parents. The photos below are from the front and back side of one of the cards in the twenty-card set entitled “Reset Expectations.” Each card offers a…

The Heart of Caregiver’s Resilience

October 31, 2016

Caregiver’s resilience is a mind set that guides action, an oath to meet failure and keep going, to rise above the unfairness of it all. The last stanza of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “A Psalm of Life” is an anthem…

10 Questions Before They Move In…

June 17, 2016

In the communal world of pre-WWII, aging parents almost always moved in. It was expected because there was usually a local family network that closed ranks and helped take care of the elders. In the dispersed world of Boomers and…

Gray Divorce: It’s Not You, It’s Me…

March 21, 2016

Why Couples Divorce After Decades of Marriage “If you or someone you know recently divorced after 20 or more years together, you’re not alone. Splitting up later in life, sometimes called “gray divorce,” is on the upswing. In 2010, one…