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How to Live With Your Aging Parents Without Going Crazy
What I do to reduce overwhelm and adapt to challenges
It’s not easy to watch your aging parents change. But we have to face it.
My mom was strong, spry, and zipping around one day. The next day she decided she was too active for her age.
After her fit, energetic younger brother suddenly died of a suspected heart attack, Mom thought she needed to take it easy. She believes her brother “overdid it exercising” and she’s making sure she doesn’t make the same mistake.
Mom stopped spending as much time in her garden. She stopped doing yard work.
And she started spending more time in bed.
Staying active always gave her get-up-and-go. Sometimes she moved around so fast I’d ask, “What kind of supplements are you on? I need some of them.”
She used to believe old was more of a state of mind than a chronological number.
She says that was true until she turned 82. (That’s also when she decided too much exercise is not good for you). Two years into making her lifestyle changes, Mom started feeling and acting old.
I try explaining the link between daily exercise and living longer. Scientific studies show exercise can slow the aging process.
