The latest round of travel began with a trip to Des Moines. The errand was to bring my aged parents back home with me for a weekend family event. I departed Thursday afternoon, stopped briefly near Albert Lea to conduct some ham radio business (selling a piece of equipment to a guy from Austin), and arriving in time for dinner.
My surprise for my parents was that I had made an appointment on Friday morning, before our departure for Minneapolis, at a “retirement community” near their home. They have been talking about this for months, but never seem to get around to it. I’ve seen too many families who waited until a crisis to make any arrangements, and as they are in their 90s, it’s time to consider the day when they might not be able to maintain their own home.
The surprise for me was that there was an independent living apartment open and available that day. I had expected to get them on a waiting list. They weren’t certain about it, so we continued north without a decision.
The weekend family event was a “couples” baby shower for our daughter, hosted by her sisters-in-law at the home of her parents-in-law. It was a good event and they received lots of nice gifts.
After the shower, my aunt and uncle invited us to see their new condo. My mother’s sister is only a few years younger, but she and her husband are much more physically able to get around than my parents. Nevertheless, they have recently put their town home on the market and are moving to a smaller condo in a “55-plus” building. Stairs in the town home are getting to be too much for them. Seeing the condo, I think, was a further stimulus to my parents’ thinking.
By Sunday afternoon, it had been decided that we would try to go back and see the apartment in Des Moines on Monday morning. We did, and they made the decision to move, no later than July 1 and possibly before.
Thus, the coming weeks are going to be very busy! We have travel planned, a new grandbaby is about to arrive, and now my parents need considerable help in getting their house ready to market. This is going to be an interesting — and busy — spring!
My surprise for my parents was that I had made an appointment on Friday morning, before our departure for Minneapolis, at a “retirement community” near their home. They have been talking about this for months, but never seem to get around to it. I’ve seen too many families who waited until a crisis to make any arrangements, and as they are in their 90s, it’s time to consider the day when they might not be able to maintain their own home.
The surprise for me was that there was an independent living apartment open and available that day. I had expected to get them on a waiting list. They weren’t certain about it, so we continued north without a decision.
The weekend family event was a “couples” baby shower for our daughter, hosted by her sisters-in-law at the home of her parents-in-law. It was a good event and they received lots of nice gifts.
After the shower, my aunt and uncle invited us to see their new condo. My mother’s sister is only a few years younger, but she and her husband are much more physically able to get around than my parents. Nevertheless, they have recently put their town home on the market and are moving to a smaller condo in a “55-plus” building. Stairs in the town home are getting to be too much for them. Seeing the condo, I think, was a further stimulus to my parents’ thinking.
By Sunday afternoon, it had been decided that we would try to go back and see the apartment in Des Moines on Monday morning. We did, and they made the decision to move, no later than July 1 and possibly before.
Thus, the coming weeks are going to be very busy! We have travel planned, a new grandbaby is about to arrive, and now my parents need considerable help in getting their house ready to market. This is going to be an interesting — and busy — spring!
