I had a couple of hours to waste so I went to Barnes and Noble and browsed through some books and came across a book that interested me called " Downsizing the Family Home " by Marni Jameson.
Since I am dedicating my self to working with Baby Boomers who are thinking about their own retirement I know many Baby Boomers are also confronted with the challenge of what to do with their aging parents.
The author writes about her own struggles with her aging parent and the emotional struggles associated with watching your parents age and make the decision that it is best to move and sell their home because of declining health, not able to take care of the daily chores of homeownership, issue of driving and becoming less independent.
Chapter 1 of the book is titled " A Tough Call: How to Know when an Aging Parent Needs a New Home". In this Chapter she identifies six (6) criteria when its time to move a parent:
- Safety: Falling is the number on problem. As one ages balance becomes and issue and if your parents are having accidents where they continue to fall then maybe its time to move.
- Health: failing physical and memory are concern. Does you parent need the aid of a walker? Are they forgetting things, getting confused, making up stories?
- Hygiene: Have you noticed your parents are wearing the same clothes or their odors in the house.
- Housekeeping: Do you see more clutter, unopened mail, dirty dishes and laundry.
- Meals: Are your parents loosing weight or comlaining about not having an appetite
- Social Life: Do your parents stay at home and rarely have visitors s
At the end of the chapter she concludes by saying:
"When Parents need to move from a longtime home into smaller quarters or an assisted living center, the path is neither clear nor smooth."
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