While not a scientific fact, I think it’s fair to say that as a group, baby boomers are planners. We think about school options, from kindergarten to college, before kids are even born. We plan vacations with the precision of a military drill. We research, evaluate, and make decisions based on information from friends, search engines, print ads, infomercials, and more. We are information hounds!
But, as the middle part of the sandwich in the sandwich generation, we don’t often put the same effort into planning for the future needs of our parents. We hear the words long-term care, retirement community, rehab and quickly do an about face and head for another latte. I get it. There are a million things to do right now, and it seems there is always more time to think about something we really don’t want to think about!
It is human nature to avoid talking about difficult subjects. Nobody wants to deliver bad news or be the reminder of troubling events. Hence the phrase, “Don’t kill the messenger.” However, we must have courage and proceed with these conversations at critical times in our lives. Some of the most difficult of these talks surrounds the failing health of loved ones. Even the most brilliant conversationalist can be at a loss when broaching the subject of a parent or spouse’s health dilemma.
