adult children

Caregiver Vulnerability and Shame

Caregiver Vulnerability and Shame
Things Fall Apart It’s a messy game being a caregiver of aging parents. Despite heroic efforts, things can fall apart at the worse possible time. Now what? Shame Comes To Easy Listen to this inspiring TED Talk by Brené Brown.…

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Losing Patience on All Sides

Losing Patience on All Sides
The tug of war between adult children and aging parents comes down to control. This article is based on an interview I gave the publication on my perspective regarding this generational power struggle… When Seniors Try the Patience of their…

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Poetry and Aging Parents, Part 4

Adult children live in a bittersweet world of loss and gratitude regarding aging parents. Barbara Crooker’s poem All Saints Day captures this emotional mixture as it attends her mother’s leaving… All Saints Day By Barbara Crooker It’s one day past…

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When Everything Falls Apart

Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity…….Socrates The world of aging parents is a complex system. This is not simply a scientific observation; it is a critical…

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Poetry and Aging Parents, Part 3

The loss of an aging parent is not an isolated event. Rather, their passing is part of the thinning social fabric of middle age and beyond. Siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins friends, associates and casual acquaintances all start to take their…

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Poetry and Adult Children

Moving through middle age is a polyphasic lightening round of commingled dilemmas. No one captures the tone and pace of this developmental tango better than Jeanne Marie Beaumont in her poem Afraid So. Afraid So By Jeanne Marie Beaumont Is…

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Dearest Son, Dearest Daughter…

I wrote How To Say It To Seniors for adult children of aging parents as well as professionals who work with older adults. In retrospect, that was short sighted. What I failed to appreciate was that older adults were deeply…

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Poetry and Aging Parents

The drama of aging parents takes courage and poetry. Mark Halliday’s moving poem about the legacy of his aging parents reminds us that every life longs for a narrative, albums that celebrate the journey and comfort the hearts of those…

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So what’s in the world come over you…

The title of this blog is taken from John Prine’s song “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness,” which seems apropos for an article on the profound impact of loneliness on the health of aging parents. Here’s the first punch line:…

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