In old days, aging parents lived with their children. Multi-generational household when most women didn’t work outside the home and were available to take care of them. I’ve heard stories how these women came to resent their roles as caretakers of elderly parents, some of which went on for years. My mother-in-law took care of her elderly mother from age of 74 following the death of her father until she died at 95. In the earlier years, she was capable of caring for herself and driving for brief trips to the grocery store, and visiting friends. Over the years, she gradually lost her independence and was more dependent on her daughter and eventually, it was a full-time bed-bound care. My MIL took the steps to be admitted into a long-term care facility when the time comes for her. She doesn’t want anyone to experience what she experienced with her mother. She resented her mother when she felt she was supposed to cherish the last moments with her. When her mother died, she felt so free – and guilty.
In old days, aging parents lived with their children. Multi-generational household when most women didn’t work outside the home and were available to take care of them. I’ve heard stories how these women came to resent their roles as caretakers of elderly parents, some of which went on for years. My mother-in-law took care of her elderly mother from age of 74 following the death of her father until she died at 95. In the earlier years, she was capable of caring for herself and driving for brief trips to the grocery store, and visiting friends. Over the years, she gradually lost her independence and was more dependent on her daughter and eventually, it was a full-time bed-bound care. My MIL took the steps to be admitted into a long-term care facility when the time comes for her. She doesn’t want anyone to experience what she experienced with her mother. She resented her mother when she felt she was supposed to cherish the last moments with her. When her mother died, she felt so free – and guilty.