A New Stage of Life
Life is about transition
I am currently involved in one of our generation’s new life-stage adventures: accompanying a parent into an assisted living facility. We went back this morning to look again at my mom’s new apartment. We were there to take some measurements, trying again to see what she can bring and what must be sold or given away or stored.
Information overload took its toll about 45 minutes into the experience. I could see this independent lioness becoming overwhelmed by the stress of decisions. At lunch, we sat at the local deli, and she reflected on how difficult it is to part with decades of memories, items, and tangible manifestations of life.
Many of us are experiencing this stage of life, or we will at some point. Fraught with emotional traps and challenges, it can be terrifying for all involved. We love to write and read of the powerful spiritual moments that can arise during this time. Often, this is true. Often, parents and children become closer, drawing strength from one another.
Yet, sometimes, the challenges become exceedingly stressful on so many levels. For, as our parents come to understand the finality of the move and what the move means on so many levels, we too are reminded, in not so subtle ways, that we are also aging. And we walk the halls of the facility, wondering if this too shall be our last place of residence.
