BACK AT THE COMPUTER

It's been a crazy time since my last post. I just drove a 2650 mile round trip to spend two days in Phoenix with my Dad. It was a nice visit but perhaps a bit too much driving, even for an old man who loves road trips. The worst part about this trip was the fact that I received news that my uncle fell and broke his elbow and hip. Since I am the person in charge of making virtually all the financial and personal decisions regarding his care, I sometimes felt like I should be in Colorado dealing with the situation instead of heading down the interstate at almost 80 miles per hour. Anyway, I am flying to Colorado this coming Tuesday to check on him.

Caring for an aging relative can be very stressful in the best of situations, but it is seriously compounded when there is no money. I feel really fortunate that there are funds available for my uncle's care and I can make decisions based on his best interests without worrying about money. While I helped my aunt and uncle with investment and other financial decisions for 20 years prior to my aunt's death and my uncle's alzheimers, they deserve a lot of credit for setting up the proper vehicles to allow me to continue to do so when they were no longer competent. Many of us think that old age and incompetence is something that happens to others but it can happen to anyone. My uncle was a highly decorated WWII veteran and a very competent individual. He was the last person you would expect to become totally incapable of managing his life. Now he can't even remember his last name. As painful as it is to think that we may be like him someday, we have to consider that possibility in our planning. Hardly anyone does. One of my own personal goals for January of next year is to take a hard look at my own situation and make sure that plans for the future are based totally on reality and not wishful thinking. Thinking about the fun things we want to do after we no longer have to spend 40+ hours a week earning a living is the enjoyable part of late life planning but we have to devote at least some energy to thinking about what can go wrong and developing some contingency plans for dealing with those possibilities. The same thing holds true for me in writing about these issues. I would attract more readers by writing about the "fun stuff" but life isn't always about the "fun stuff." Hopefully, I can encourage you to protect your family members by considering these other issues as well.

Dealing with adversity is part of life and we always have to remain as positive as we can in these situations. Remember. When life hands you lemons, buy a bottle of tequila and some salt and give me a call.