Had to clean my (temporarily, we hope) invalid dad's ass this morning. He couldn't recall having to do the same for his father.
I've still got him beat on first to use a walker, though his has wheels and mine didn't.
And, last week, apparently my younger sister was the first among us siblings to receive a "senior citizen's discount!
In reply to Karacticus :
damn dude, that's rough. I also hope your Dad's invalid status is temporary.
i fear that anything i post will seem like story-topping, so i'll just say that caring for our parents is especially tough when we spent our entire youth looking to them for strength and care. I wish you the best, my GRM brother.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Karacticus :
damn dude, that's rough. I also hope your Dad's invalid status is temporary.
i fear that anything i post will seem like story-topping, so i'll just say that caring for our parents is especially tough when we spent our entire youth looking to them for strength and care. I wish you the best, my GRM brother.
Even harder when you and your sibling live a full day of travel away from your parents.
I just turned 60. Now that my generation is becoming the "old" one, it makes me think of my grandparents. They all handled aging with such grace and dignity an outsider would be hard-pressed to see the reality that growing old can be much grimmer. Even when grandma was pounding down half a bottle of scotch each day to cover the pain of her hip injury, she was warm and gracious.
Hang in there. You're doing the good work.
It's not really all that bad, but it definitely isa kind of life milestone marker.
It definitely is a burden him living down here in New Mexico-- 2 1/2 days of driving if you're not doing a banzai run, or a full day flying. The worst of the travel though is the roughly 3 days of acclimatization to humidity that maxes out in the teens while the inside layer of your sinuses dries up and sloughs off-- I think someone coming here from Florida would probably die!
if he's able to use a toilet one of those bidet seats would probably help.
In reply to j_tso :
In this case, he didn't quite make it to the toilet in time.
The older I get, the luckier I feel - in some ways - to have lost both parents early. I've seen enough friend deal with their parents' waning health & the struggles it brings that I honestly hope I don't stick around too long after my own "best by" date.
Senior discount?
I was not hungry when I stopped at Culver's last week but I had to eat. Guy ahead of me asks for senior discount. I ask what that is? it's 5% savings.
Sign says there are kids meals for 12 and under. Can I order that? Yes, they say.
I'll take the childs burger meal with the senior discount.
In reply to Karacticus :
Remain strong buddy - my wife had some health issues a few weeks ago and I had to man up for the rubber glove events she asked for. You really feel the "adulting" role.
Ask me about changing adult diapers. On the other hand, don't.
She died last June.
I start on social security this month, so that's a milestone I guess.
On a different topic, I saw an obituary today for the first girl I ever kissed as a teenager. I hadn't thought about her for 50 years or more but it was still sad to hear.
I'm planning to live forever. So far, so good. I'll be 68 this year, don't intend to retire before 72.
Seriously, my in-laws and my dad are gone, don't know about my mom, but I haven't seen her since 1970.
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:The older I get, the luckier I feel - in some ways - to have lost both parents early. I've seen enough friend deal with their parents' waning health & the struggles it brings that I honestly hope I don't stick around too long after my own "best by" date.
It sounds so morbid, but I agree 100%. I lost my mother about 22 years ago, she wasn't even 60 and I wasn't even 30. Though watching cancer claim her was brutal. After my mother passed, I stopped speaking to my father. I know he's still alive and in very poor health, he's 82. I have a growing list of health issues of my own and I absolutely dread the thought of letting someone care for me.
Karacticus, my heart goes out to you and you are the best son a parent could ever hope for. Love and devotion is the best thing a parent could ever ask for, and you're clearly showing it to him.
In a light hearted moment, I always tell my kids...especially my twins...that if I ever do reach that stage, I'm going to make sure my diaper is good and loaded. Cleaning up E36 M3 and vomit from twins who had strong cholic was oh-so-charming. You know what they say about payback. 
Both my parents passed before that became an issue for me.
Hang in there, you got this.
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