Caring for aging parents





One Good Day

In the end, caregivers accept the limits of what they can control while making the best of what remains—a shift in focus to one good day at a time. Honoring the here and now offers a nurturing space for aging…

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Informed Control: The Art of Alignment

“I can’t believe I have to take a driving evaluation.” Nancy could hear how upset her father was at the idea of being retested to keep his driver’s license, “I have been a licensed driver for over 50 years, and…

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Reset Expectations

The challenges of caring for an aging parent are exhaustive and quickly exceed the capacity of one person. Caregivers need to adopt realistic and sustainable expectations about their capacity to avoid sacrificing their health for unattainable goals. Acknowledging limits on…

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And then an aging parent moves in…

When an aging parent moves in, no one can predict how it will work out.  What looks good in the beginning can come undone in sudden and distressing ways. Adult children need to frame moving in as “one step” in…

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Sibling Rules

It’s a fact of family life: roles are cut in stone.  Stop trying to change a sibling who for the most part resents your audacity to assume you have the right to “fix’ him or her. Accurately assess what a…

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