Book Groups/Wiki Project

Thank you all for sharing your hard work with us all last week. It was fantastic to be able to get a sense of the different books you all read without having to take the time to read them all myself, although I do think I have a couple to add to my reading to-do list. 

I could tell how much effort you all put into your projects, even in the design elements of your pages. They are a great help when working on Exam II as well, so thanks again!

Snow

As I sit and look out at the snow, I still enjoy seeing it. Somehow every year it still seems new and exciting. A friend posted on her Facebook status something along the lines of "It's just friggin' snow, people. Get over it, you've seen it before." While, to some degree, I understand where she was coming from with this, it made me think about the general passage of time throughout a life course of a person.

At what point do things like the first big snowfall or the first shorts-worthy spring day lose their thrill, or do they ever?

It's so important not to take the little joys in life for granted. We can make each day new and exciting even if it's the same as the 5, 10, 20, 50 years before, because we can always look at in in a new way. In relationships, we are constantly building upon the history we have established, making the meaning of each cup of coffee, dinner and a movie, or call on the phone worth more than its face value.

I hope you all can continue to find the little happinesses around you each and every day.

Celebrating Caregivers

A little while ago, I saw a commercial for Genworth financial, asking for nominations of caregivers that should be recognized. Given our discussions about both formal and informal caregiving, I thought it was particularly relevant.

You can check it out and read some of the nominations/stories on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GenworthCelebrates

Giving Thanks

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much to those of you that shared your experiences over break with us. I'm so glad that this helped spark some conversation that otherwise might not have occurred.

I also discussed some of these things with my family while I was with them. My grandma said, when asked about how she feels about getting older and being in later life, "Sometimes it stinks, and sometimes its great." I feel like this really coincides well with what we've read about health concerns and negative changes but also about good social networks and other activities.

I had the chance to briefly discuss with my parents what they would like in the event that they need extra care in later life. The seemed as though they would be happy to go into an assisted living facility if it came to that. I was a bit surprised in this answer, especially because of how difficult it has been to find a suitable place for my mother's parents to be. They were fairly resistant to the change. However, upon further thought, I think the resistance was not really about the living arrangements themselves, but rather the realization that they had gotten to the point where they could no longer completely care for themselves. This has to be very difficult, especially with the general sense of independence and autonomy that we are raised with in the U.S.

Thanks again for participating in this with me, and I hope you will continue the dialogue about issues in later life with your families!
Megan

Challenge for you all

Hi everyone!

If you aren't already on your way home, I know you're thinking about it! I want to pose a challenge to you all while you spend time with family, and most likely some older adults. Please use the comments to post your answers/experiences to the following:

1.) How has this course changed the way you view some of the older adults in your life? Are there any aspects of later life that you are now noticing that you hadn't before?
2.) Talk to someone who fits in the "adult in later life" category about at least one of the following: their view on getting older, how they see their social life, their plans for extended care, etc.
3.) Discuss some of the issues in later life that we have talked about in class with someone you would not classify as in later life themselves. How might their thoughts be different from what we've discussed in class?

I'll work on these as well and report back with my experiences.

Have a great break!
Megan

Caregiving for adults in Later Life

I was very intrigued by the article discussing how caregiving responsibilities are divided based on income and work hours. It makes a lot of sense to me that those who work more would be more willing to provide financial assistance, regardless of whether or not they can provide the unpaid assistance.

In my own experience, I have seen my mother-in-law (Lindy) take care of her mother-in-law (Pat) when Pat had a stroke. I remember being surprised that Lindy was doing most of the caretaking rather than Pat's own children, of which she does have daughters. There are various complications within the family that make things a little more muddled than I can explain here, but Lindy's caregiving shows both the role of women as kinkeepers in families as well as the heavier burden that weighs upon women when dealing with care of older adults.

On my mother's side of the family, my grandparents have struggled off and on with health concerns, both mental and physical. My mother is one of 5 living siblings (my uncle passed away a number of years ago) who have somewhat arranged rotating care for my grandparents. The 3 female children (my mother and 2 aunts) have dealt more with the living arrangements and things, while one of my uncles has taken over some of the financial arrangements for my grandparents. Some of the issues they encounter are geographic in nature. Only 2 of the 5 children live in the same state as my grandparents, making caregiving arrangements rather difficult at times. As a result, my grandparents moved to an assisted living facility only a few minutes away from one of my aunts. This is great for my grandparents, but I can see this being difficult for my aunt and her family because she has children in elementary through high school ages. It is definitely an issue that comes up frequently and has cause all of the siblings to communicate with each other more frequently.

Parent and Adult Child Relationships

I found that I ended up being a bit more nervous than expected to present last week for class, but I really enjoyed discussing the topic. I think this is an especially interesting relationship to examine, since many of us will soon be approaching this stage as our parents get closer to later life as well.

Just like any relationship we've discussed, communication is so important. Because of the transitional nature of this period for both parents and children, it is crucial to keep the lines of communication open so that you can work through these changes together and have a good idea about how the other person is doing in their own transition.

I also think that this time is similar to some of the struggles encountered during adolescence. The issue of independence comes up in both sets of relationships, with adolescence being the beginning of independence assertion, and the parent-adult child relationship showing the realization of that independence. In both cases, parents are in a position where they have to begin to adjust to their child's growing autonomy and how that may change the nature of their relationship with their child.

I hope you all at least moderately enjoyed the discussion/activities, and I'll see you later this week!
Megan