What I mean is how do you see your future unfolding in your declining years? Do you have a partner or people in your life who will be your rock? Or will you find yourself alone navigating the unknown?
I have no children. My siblings have proven they scatter to the winds when times are tough. My partner has shown himself to be anything but a pillar of support and strength with his own aging parents.
I worry about this lately.
Any thoughts?
My main directive in life is not to put my child through the straight up hell I have had to go through caring for her and at times my husband. I have planned ahead for life changes to the degree that I can at this point, all my legal papers in order and I am purging crap out of this house like crazy. I have told him not to hesitate for one second to find a facllity for me if I become too frail or mentally incompetent. And to try, please try not to feel guilty about it.
Those statistics are skewed because there are two people, and one of them will definitely live longer.
🤷♀️
My work is done here, Lol.
Of course I want her to be at peace and not suffering with all of this. However, I can’t help but think to myself, who will do this kind of support for me when I am old? I have an amazing husband but no children. No siblings. Etc. I guess it’s off to an elder care attorney (thank you for that) but there’s more to aging then legal stuff and guardianship…..
My husband has Alzheimer’s. We have no children. All of our relatives are gone already. We have no close friends. Since my husband already has a terminal diagnosis, he won’t be around for me (or if by chance he is around, he won’t know me or be able to assist anybody with anything). So I will be alone. As alone as alone can get.
I figure I will die inside my home and days/weeks later someone will find my body. Or perhaps I will die in a hospital or nursing home. There may be nurses around, so that’s actually the best case scenario for me.
If you mean how do you get your ducks in a row, then talk to an elder care attorney. Get you wills done. We don’t have much, but have specifically excluded a couple of very distance relatives who may come out of the woodwork. We have a trust company to help with seeing to our (my) bills when I’m not able to. Anything left ( house/everything in it will be sold) will go to charities we’ve named in our will. I am currently shopping for long term care insurance for myself to help with some costs, but I’m not even sure that is needed. I can be placed in a state run facility for all I care. I’ll be a old lady who is totally alone, and I’m sure by that time, I’ll be more than ready to go.
We have arranged to turn our affairs over to a guardianship entity, should we become unable to care for ourselves or make good decisions (this is also referred to as a "trust company"). A good attorney can talk to you about your options, and clarify legal terms and instruments. While we hope there will be some money left over to leave to our nieces, our first responsibility is to care for ourselves as best we can.
An elder law attorney can help you sort out your options and draft a new will. I strongly urge you to do this since, unfortunately, family that refuses to be involved in one's declining years may often expect to receive something after one's death.
They are a charity are they not? Or do they just need blood?
Forgive me for not knowing this already.🤔
I have 2 daughters, and I would hope that at least D1 would support DH2 or me in either event. However I would not want either of them to care for me, unless it was for a very short time (as for me and my mother).
I do worry a little about who would care for DH2 if I go first. I think D1 would, but D2 wouldn’t. If DH is still competent then, he will make his own decisions.
I am now having great problems with settling my will. DH2 gets all my substantial superannuation, and is joint owner of most property. D1 gets a separately owned property, but it’s hard to work out about unhelpful D2 daughter and her children. And also about charity bequests – I don’t fancy the cat’s home, and I don’t have a great deal of faith in most charities.
Any comments on this would be helpful, even if I don’t agree!
We have ordered DNR bracelets and signed papers with the doctor. We have contracted with Neptune Society and will be discussing, "Death with Dignity Program" with our Elder Law Attorney.
We are putting the house on the market to downsize our living arrangements and will be contacting an auction house or consignment company for antiques and such. We are donating to local charities all the time as we thin out our belongings. Christmas brought about a revelation: we only put lights on the Christmas tree and that proved to show us how many memories are wrapped up in ornaments and that we can, indeed, give them all away.
Memories usually make me sad, but I hum my favorite song, "The Way We Were," by Streisand.
Memories
Light the corners of my mind
Misty watercolor memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we?
Could we?
Memories
May be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply to choose to forget
So it's the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were
Like my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, I expect to outlive most of my friends. Perhaps there will be newer, later friends to spend some last hours visiting with. Perhaps not. However, I do not fear being alone when my time comes, though that may well be the case. I will be letting go of the possessions, the friendships as time goes on, keeping the memories of all the wonderful times in my life. If I happen to be alone when the final letting go occurs, I am sure that it will be spent living in the memories of the good things I have owned, the good times shared with friends and family already gone. There have also been bad times and disappointing purchases. I try to let go of those as quickly as possible. I want to hold on to the things that are best, have the best memories. Ultimately, I will only hang on to the memories. Those, perhaps, will accompany me on my way out of this life. I expect a peaceful death, not missing those things or relationships that I have released, but cherishing the present memories of everything that has brought me pleasure and contentment during this long and eventful life.
I encourage you to let go of any expectations you may have had concerning your sibs and partner, possessions, and career. Focus instead on the happy memories that you can keep with you. Buy or make a few items that will make you particularly happy. Cherish these things, for a while, making the memories that will sustain you. Join a garden club or some other organization where you can make a friend or two based on a loved activity. Hang tight to the memories you are making and let go of any that do not sustain you. You can be happy and satisfied with the memories that you make and keep. Look at old photo albums or year books and try to lock into your minds the good times past, even while letting go of the people and things that made them. I think you will find some peace and contentment there.
I'm in your position, too- married but no kids and no close family. I thought about this in my late 30s when children were definitely out of the equation and began saving for health care so that when it got to the point where we couldn't care for ourselves we would (hopefully) be able to afford a nice facility to spend the last years with the company of other residents (it's strange to think that the music of my generation will include Kiss, Metallica, and Van Halen- no Perry Como to lull us to sleep as we doze in our wheelchairs in the solarium!).
In the end, however, we all die alone regardless of where we live or who is with us... the best we can hope for is an easing into it as we get there. My father died 2 months ago in a warm, clean bed in the little hospital of the coal mining town where he had been born 88 years earlier. I am forever grateful to those strangers who took such excellent, kind care of my old dad during his last days and were with him in the early morning hours when his heart gave out. Personally, I hope I am surrounded by that same kind of care when it comes my time but until then I plan to enjoy life and be grateful for whatever each new day brings.
In my imagination I am making happen that you find things
to bring you joy and enjoyment, be it music, something to watch
on TV, read, see or taste.....
I'm sending you a hug-
Love, Tashi
And, being in the home healthcare industry, I've been able to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of aging and death. I have had to listen to many adult children "wishing their parents were dead" and others charging up their credit cards because "mom's happiness is the most important thing in the world to me".
With all that said, I have no fear of old age or dying - both are inevitable - and I can have power over both. At some point, my money, my health, or my will to live might expire before my physical body does. I will do what I can to prepare for that day, not obsess over it, nor fear it.
On a happy note, I told my brother I am planning to be cremated. He told me he would spread my ashes in Thailand for me because he knows how much I like it there. My response was, "I like McDonald's too! The parking lot will be fine!"
My two young adult children have watched the situation unfold over the past 16 years. They've watched as I've (reluctantly) let go of so much to care for my mother.
I will never ask them to take on the burden of hands-on caregiving. Never.
And, without my prompting, they have both told me that they will make sure I'm cared for properly and if needed they will hire an in-home caregiver.
However, in my heart I don't believe that I'll reach the point of needing someone else to care for me. This gig has taken years off my life and I really no longer care.
I am only a few months into this journey but already know that the last thing I want is for my children to feel this weight. If that lesson is why I’m going through this with my own parents, it will be worth it.
I even voiced my concerns to him about how I see him treat his parents and my question to him was "Is this what I have to look forward to when I start to lose my faculties?" His response was "But you are a girl of love" Girl, LOL! So I take that to mean I'm nothing like his parents and therefore need not worry. I hope and I pray.
I'm glad you've all been generous with your responses. I think this is an important topic and if it is a gentle kick in the right direction as far as planning for your future then I'm glad I brought it up.
He also isn't great in a crisis, although I'll give him some credit for being able to call 911 when I had pancreatitis attacks three times in the past couple of months. However, the last time I had to send him home from the hospital because HE was the one about to pass out. (No lie -- he left the hospital and went to work out.) He also has zero curiosity about medical issues and no interest in learning about them or how to treat them. That could be a problem down the line, too. There's no need to learn about medical issues if you'd just work out, you know!
Fortunately, we already have all our powers of attorney and our trust set up, and there's plenty of money to cover nursing homes, if needed. My kids know how I cared for my parents in the past couple of years and they know my desires in terms of care and funerals. I'll have to remind them or readjust my requests as time goes on, since I'm only 60 now and have no expectations of any major crises in the near future now that my gallbladder is gone and no longer causing me issues with my pancreas. However, if something dreadful comes up in the near future, I feel like I can handle whatever comes after having been through it with my folks so recently.