My Life's Journey: Why I'm Writing About Parent Care

​For months I’ve been writing steadily as a creative outlet, but my writing hasn’t really had a collective theme or a home.  I’ve also been pondering my life’s journey- where I’ve been and where I’m headed.  (And who isn’t pondering everything?  It’s 2020, after all.) 

​Recently, one of my writing mentors challenged me to write about topics I knew well and could speak to easily.  Hmm… what do I know well that I can speak to easily that might also help someone?  How about chocolate chip cookies?  Would that make for a good blog?  (Yes. Always yes, but I’m not sure that’s sustainable.)  How about something from my past professional experiences?  (No. Boring. What else?)  Then it hit me and literally bolted me out of bed.  Why not simply share my life story- a story I didn’t plan or create, but a story I’m very much living each day?

And just like that, I started writing about parent care.  I’m not sure why I didn’t think of this/it sooner.  After all, I’ve been living it for the past eight years.  I’ll never forget buying a frame at Hobby Lobby for my father’s memorial service.  In my grief-fueled zombie state, I told the cashier the importance of the frame.  She replied with “Oh, Honey.  You’ve just joined a club you never wanted to be in.  Losing a parent changes your world.”  Truer words have never been spoken.  At least, not to me.

I see the need for guidance and moral support for people my age dealing with aging parents everywhere.  For some reason, very few people talk about taking care of their parents or care of the elderly, in general.  Why not?  We all go through it, some of us sooner than expected.

I lost my dad to cancer eight years ago.  Since then, my mom and I have battled more cancer and weathered grief, natural disasters, downsizing, and the natural issues that arrive with old age.  It definitely hasn’t been a cake walk, but it has been a massive learning experience, and I feel I have much to share. 

So, I’m parking my words here on my new site with the hope of helping anyone out there who may be on their own parent journey.  I have grand visions for this blog and this new path, but I’ll simply start with this first post and go from there. 

Thanks for joining me on this important life journey.  Let’s get started, shall we?

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