| |
Mike
Carruthers:
It's the universal subject no one wants to talk about. That our
parents will get old, perhaps get sick and will one day die. Susan
Piver:
The refrain that I heard over and over again from my friends
who had lost a parent or had a parent who is very ill was, " I wish I would
have known what they would have wanted me to do." Susan
Piver, author of the book,
The Hard Questions For Adult Children And Their Aging Parents says it is a
tough subject to talk about. There
is a superstition that if we talk about it we can cause it to happen. And also
it's just so painful to let that reality in, we all want to believe that we're
going to live forever and be healthy forever. But
there are a lot of good reasons to face the inevitable and have that conversation. First
from a very practical point of view, you know, do you have health insurance and
if so what does it cover, what would you like us to do with the house, etc.? And
then moving on to maybe more emotional or spiritual issues. My family and I did
this process and I was dreading it, but we actually, we also laughed a lot and
told stories and it was very intimate. Sometimes
it's easier for the parents to start this conversation but Susan says somebody
has to, because pretending that this won't happen doesn't do anybody any good.
My experience
is that difficult things happen, loss occurs, grief is experienced and I don't
want to pretend that that's not true because A) It deepens my pain and B) it distances
me from people who need me. At
somethingyoushdouldknow.net
I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know. |
|
| Keep
up with Mike! Join
the "Something You Should Know" Insider
Update. We'll e-mail your Update
to you every 2 weeks.
| |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| | | |