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“Ouch,” we say when our knees hurt as we bend down to put something heavy away.  “Oh no,” we complain because it hurts when we stretch to get out of bed in the morning.   And “ugh,” we utter when we look in the mirror and see new creases around our eyes and upper lips that are starting to look like a set of pleated drapes.    Aging has its challenges, physically, visually and mentally. Some are bad—aches and ailments, mental lapses, repetition of the same story, again and again, and forgetting things. Frankly, it can suck. And at the...

I recently spent several hours in the sky with Skyler, my son’s 6-year-old cat. She was my carry-on luggage on a flight from St. Louis to New York City. My son and Skyler were moving there for his new job.  Oh, the things we do for our children!  Transporting a cat this way never seems like a great idea unless you’re the cat whisperer, which I clearly am not. I’ve never owned a cat. I’ve had several dogs and have taken care of Skyler in her own surroundings when my son has traveled. That meant giving her food, water and...

What do we do as middle-aged kids in the middle who are trying to parent our children, even when grown, and find ourselves suddenly responsible for taking care of our aging parents who want to remain independent and age in their own homes? The situation can trigger battles between the generations over money, about not taking medicine, and with the aging parent who tries to remain independent but forgets to turn off the range, leaves the refrigerator door open, eats the wrong foods, or tries to make it to the bathroom alone in the dead of night and falls.  ...

We talked to Amanda Lambert and Leslie Eckford, authors of Aging with Care: Your Guide to Hiring and Managing Caregivers at Home, by email and phone about the essentials to get started in caring for an aging parent at home. Read the first part of the Q & A. The rest will follow next week in Part 3.    Question: What’s the most important lesson to remember as any of us start caring for an elderly parent? Answer from Leslie Eckford: Starting out, I learned the lesson that finding a good home caregiving solution requires a respect for balance. Balancing the...

If we are lucky enough to have our parents live to a ripe old age—their 80s, 90s and now centennial years, most likely they will need some or a lot of care. This includes transportation to the grocery store or doctor, help with bathing, cooking, laundry, cleaning, and making beds. It’s a difficult transition even in the best of circumstances. The situation can trigger battles between the generations over money, about not taking medicine, and with the aging parent who tries to remain independent but forgets to turn off the range, leaves the refrigerator door ajar or eats the wrong...