Friday, April 17, 2009

Where will you live?


Have you thought about it?
It's an issue most of us don't want to address even as we get older...but where will you live when you can no longer take care of yourself?

It really hit me hard this week while visiting my 84 year-old mom; then we went to the nursing home to see my 95 year- old aunt and I also spent a day with my uncle who's 90.

The hardest part was the nursing home visit because my aunt knows she's never going home again. My uncle also tore at my heart when he told me "I never anticipated living in a place like this" and he's living in a very expensive Continuing Care Facility, nothing like your typical nursing home. It's a very difficult choice that your children will have to make if you don't have a written directive, so it's critical that you make your choices known well in advance.

Another option that most people would prefer is to age in place in their own home. It's almost like when you had to childproof your home, but instead you need to make it more user friendly as you find it difficult to do your daily chores. To find ideas on home modifications for the elderly, go to http://www.homemods.org/

To check out nursing homes in your area, go to the Internet and type in:
Nursing Homes + your city

Either way, put it in writing and let your family know how and where you'd prefer to live!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your blog, Rosie. It's insightful, informative and entertaining! (Just wanted to let you know I was here).

Terry

Retired Rosie said...

Hey Terry thanks so much -- I'm glad you're still reading it!
Retired Rosie