Something you want but can’t get or afford.

[Jstpssng]

Maybe the hardest part is just witnessing the gradual loss of who they used to be.

Amen!!! I have long believed that it's harder to watch a parent or other elderly get old, than it is to age myself.

 

[Sigarms]

My dad once complained in his 80's that he would never golf 36 holes in one day again in his life. I had to remind him he was in his 80's.

He came to live with us after he fractured his back working on his lawn mower, and lived with us for 4 years (he learned that he could not do everything by himself after his back issue).

The last year of his life I had to help him take a bath (even though that last year we got him a walk in tub / show combo), and removed the bed frame to lower the bed to make it easier on him getting in and out of bed. Pretty much tucked him into bed every night, kissing him on the forehead telling him that I loved him.

Honestly, it sucked when it got to the point we got past a walker and had to get a wheel chair for him to get around if he wanted to leave the house. It also sucked seeing how dependent he got upon us and how much he told me he thought his life sucked because he had to depend on us.

That said, I wouldn't have changed any of it for anything in the world. He lived with us, he knew that both my wife and I loved him, and we would do anything for him.

My mother in law is now 77, and we're waiting to see how things play out when she gets old. When we downsize, will have an extra bed and bath for her in the new home.

You know your life is blessed when you love your parents and they know it, and your parents love you and you know it. Yes, it sucks watching them get old, but all those times when I was kissing my dads head at night after tucking him in, I remember how many times my mom did it for me (generally growing up as a young kid, my dad wasn't always around being in the military). Then when I became a teen (after my dad retired and he was around), for some reason my dad became a butthole and I liked my mom a lot better back then LOL

 

[Oaktree]

Amen!!! I have long believed that it's harder to watch a parent or other elderly get old, than it is to age myself.

While I've never been especially close to family, it was hard to watch my father in his later years. He just kind of went from being relatively active into an old man in what seemed like only a few months. He outlived most of his friends, so I'm sure that took its toll.
Neither of my parents had any sort of dementia, I would imagine that would be hard to deal with.

 

[Jstpssng]

While I've never been especially close to family, it was hard to watch my father in his later years. He just kind of went from being relatively active into an old man in what seemed like only a few months. He outlived most of his friends, so I'm sure that took its toll.
Neither of my parents had any sort of dementia, I would imagine that would be hard to deal with.

I am the black sheep of the family. If I had to do it over again I'd have gone into the service in 1984 and not come back until I had my ****
Er, my act together. Yet the hardest thing was not being able to call my father up and ask him about things like when to plant, or advice when tractor shopping.. He was still there physically, but as the Alzheimers claimed him couldn't remember things which were once second nature to him. When he passed away it was almost a relief; we had already done our grieving.

To get back into the vein of the OP's thread; something I would like but can't get is a cure for Alzheimer's.

 

[two_bit_score]

Something I would like to have but can't get and coudn't afford is a full city block in downtown Houston. But only certian blocks. Some would be too much trouble.

Seriously, I have been blessed and don't really think about it much. I can have anything I want but not everything I might want.

 

[dodge man]

My dad had dementia and my mom Alzheimer’s. Yes a cure for that would be great. A cure for cancer would be great to but some things will probably never be cured.

 

[ultrarunner]

It seems many are ok if not content on the material side of things… years of working towards a goal and having a little slice of heaven to call home with a tractor in the shed for the heavy lifting.

 

[WinterDeere]

It seems many are ok if not content on the material side of things… years of working towards a goal and having a little slice of heaven to call home with a tractor in the shed for the heavy lifting.

Results might vary by forum, and party affiliation.

 

[ultrarunner]

Results might vary by forum, and party affiliation.

Wouldn’t that be more on the philosophical side of things…?

 

[bmaverick]