Father of My Dreams
For fifty years, our relationship was tense and volatile...I have to admit that my new father, the one who emerged from his chrysalis, is the one I’ve always wanted....
Aging Parents
Forgiving Dad
This Father’s Day I feel my father’s pain merging with mine in a pact of forgiveness....
Boomer’s Choice
The longer you live the longer it will take to die. The better you have lived the worse you may die....
A Mother’s Day Dichotomy
It’s a sad reality that Mother’s day has shaped into a dichotomy of the beautiful and the lets-get-this-over-with....
My Mother’s Terror
I never knew my mother before she was 50......
Mother’s Day Recipe for Disaster
I get confused on Mother’s Day. My first instinct is to be there for my Mom. A close second, if not a full tie, is that I want to be with my kids. Do I want to ...
A Child of Divorce – at 49
Even though I came to terms with my parents divorce, a teeny, tiny part of me always hoped they would be together again....
Saying “No” to Fear
I don’t want to give in to my fears. In part that’s because I have so many of them that if I gave in.......
Elder Care: Conversations About Dying
A few years ago I read an article in the New YorkTimes about talking with your parents about dying and death....
Lies She Tells Her Mother
I had lunch today with a writer friend who, like me, is going through the heart-wrenching chapter of The Failing Parents. ...
When Your Parent Makes the Big Move
When my mother was a sprightly 81, my sister and I helped her move from her home near New York City to an independent living residence....
Alcoholic-Related Dementia
Although my mother is sober now, it seems that her on-and-off-again loss of memory is a result of a period of heavy drinking within the past ten years....
Long Term Care Insurance – What To Do?
Long Term Care Insurance. It’s something we BA50s need to know about it. But it’s also a topic many of us are good at avoiding. Here’s the catch. ...
Home Is Where the Art Is
When my mother won first prize the first time at the show at the Armory in Palm Beach, she said that she felt her mother’s hand guiding her. My grandmother, a very artistic and independent woman, would have been proud to see her success....
Elder Care Experts – Us!
One great way to manage the stresses of caring for elderly parents is to have a chance to think about the future before it’s knocking on your door, wiping its dirty feet on your welcome mat, barging on in and taking over your life....
Sixty Minutes With Dad
When my dad sees me, he gives me a big smile through chocolate-stained dentures. He is just finishing a cookie. There are crumbs on his lap and on the floor surrounding his wheelchair....
Woman in the Middle
Today finds me a super-stretched, trapped-in-the-middle, poster child for the Sandwich Generation. For this Thanksgiving, I want just one thing: To feel neither worried nor guilty for one whole day....