by Hope
I return to Texas within the week. Caring for my daughter and her fiance has been a very different experience then caring for my parents. Aging is place seems like a buzzword. But as I get more and more familiar with the care available (or not available/accessible in many cases) to seniors, it just makes so much sense. But it definitely does require planning and fore thought.
Our Story
We kind of fell into it with my mom. When she was originally diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and then that was changed to Parkinson‘s almost a year later, the gradual decline made it possible for us to talk through options and make plans as she went down hill. My family has taken EXCEPTIONAL care of her for the past 8 years. There are definitely advantages to having 5 kids and 3 of them living within 20 miles!
Hospice was called in almost 3 years ago now. At the time, they didn’t expect her to last a month.
Now we watch every day, never knowing what it is to come. The long goodbye is definitely an accurate description of this debilitating disease. Her breathing is labored and raspy. It continues to get more and more laborious to feed her and prompt her to open her mouth and swallow.
But if anything my family sticks. My parents are truly examples of those often forgotten marriage covenants they made to one another over 50 years ago now.
Preparing for What’s Next
I feel very blessed to be here for this chapter in their lives and mine. I realize this is a privilege not many are given.
And I’ve realized that for now, being present for those that need me is exactly where I need to be.
And before you jump in the comments with the negativity or foreshadowing of some thing…I am sticking to my financial plan, saving and continuing to pay off my student loans. But I don’t know what or when my next chapter will come. And for the first time, that’s okay. Being present for my parents (and my kids) while they need me.
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
