Golden Years?

Talk between the siblings continues of what to do with Mom and Dad. Dad really cannot be alone right now and those of us who can be with him cannot meet the challenge on a long-term basis. Mom has problems too big for any of us to handle. My sisters are jumping through all the hoops and making all the calls to help them. It's looking very unlikely that they will keep the house much longer.

It cannot be an easy thing to work your whole life, to save for your retirement and collect so many possessions just to find out that however much you saved wasn't nearly enough and oh by the way, you have to get rid of all your stuff because there's no room for it where you're going.

Dan Nygaard was the only one of my grandparents fortunate enough to avoid a nursing home. I wonder what my parents thought, what kind of anguish they felt when they watched their parents be slowly stripped of their pride, their independence and all of their worldly possessions. Were their eyes opened to what lay ahead for them? Do they deep down in their hearts know the dilemma that us kids are facing?

I suppose that they never thought old age would be like this. That money that they were saving was not put into the bank with hospital bills in mind but rather to enjoy on whatever they wanted.

We were born into this world naked and penniless, and we depart from it the same. The state certainly sees to that.