If you’re a “Boomer,” you have faced a lot of change in the world – more wars than you’d care to count, the Beatles, Twinkies, the peace sign, and watching your parents tap their toes to Lawrence Welk.

Speaking of Mom and Dad, you’ve likely begun to see some signs that all might not be well at that home they’ve lived in for so many years. They really should move, but can be hard reality to face.

Here are some things that might be going on:

• Mom can’t get up those stairs like she used to and you worry about her falling.
• Dad seems overwhelmed about keeping up the yard…and it shows.
• They live in fewer and fewer rooms – usually just the kitchen, the bedroom and those two chairs in the living room in front of the TV.
• The “Honey-Do” list they used to keep up with each weekend has now fallen on your shoulders and it’s getting longer and longer.
• Holidays and the decorations are too much now…so they come to your house.
• Mom isn’t physically able to clean the house anymore.
• Dad hasn’t repaired or fixed anything in his “shop” for years.

So where to begin? You’ve probably already tried the obvious: “Mom and Dad, I think it’s time you consider moving. I worry about you falling. You’re not as young as you used to be.” They probably didn’t like it, did they? It’s probably how you might have felt when you’re kids put you down for not being able to do something because you “were old.”

The key here is to work on the Positive.

• Emphasize what they can do at a smaller/downsized condo/apartment: container gardening and social dinners without having to drive!
• Remind them how much more time they’ll enjoy without homeowner chores.
• Talk about friends they can visit who may be living in a unit or building close by.
• Emphasize how they’ll have more time to see you and your kids.
• Offer the idea that they could give themselves a break – a vacation of sorts. They’ve earned it.
• Plant the idea that it would be wonderful to see another family being able to enjoy the beloved house; kids playing in the backyard and rooms filled with love and laughter once again.
• Pass on their years of love and maintenance to a couple that would love the house as much as the family has all these years.

With your love and support and the focus on the positive, what originally began as an unsettling prospect can in fact be a joyous occasion.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 8:36 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.