Welcome ...

All too many times overwhelmed caregivers are physically and emotionally depleted and need to take time to rest and care for themselves. Believing in a holistic approach to caregiver stress and a strong commitment to helping our members find the right solutions, we created this blog to help you connect with others who, like you, may be facing the same eldercare issues and challenges. Feel free to comment, ask questions, and submit articles. Please forward the blog link to your family and friends. They'll be glad you did.

Warm regards,

Patricia Grace
founder & CEO
Aging with Grace

Friday, December 31, 2010

Real Life Among the Old Old

Susan Jacoby, New York Times

I RECENTLY turned 65, just ahead of the millions in the baby boom generation who will begin to cross the same symbolically fraught threshold in the new year to a chorus of well-intended assurances that “age is just a number.” But my family album tells a different story. I am descended from a long line of women who lived into their 90s, and their last years suggest that my generation’s vision of an ageless old age bears about as much resemblance to real old age as our earlier idealization of painless childbirth without drugs did to real labor.

In the album is a snapshot of my mother and me, smiling in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree when she was 75 and I was 50. She did seem ageless just 15 years ago. But now, as she prepares to turn 90 next week, she knows there will be no more holiday adventures in her future. Her mind is as acute as ever, but her body has failed. Chronic pain from a variety of age-related illnesses has turned the smallest errand into an excruciating effort.

Read full article...

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing this article. It does make you think - especially for daughters who are coming to terms with their aging mothers and the changes in the relationship!

    ReplyDelete

Search This Blog

Helpful Resources

Low Vision Therapy Services


Children of Aging Parents (CAPS)


Well Spouse Association


U.S. Administration on Aging


BenefitsCheckUp


Nursing Home Compare


Senior Safety Online


Mature Market Institute


Connections for Women


50Plus Realtor


Alzheimer's Speaks


Official VA Website