Many people choose a personal word of the year to focus on for 365 days instead of making New Years resolutions. I’ve been doing that for the past few years and think it’s a winning idea. This year, though, one word isn’t quite enough. My one word for 2018 is **Family** paired with three related words …
Kindness, Patience and Compassion.
You see, my dear parents — aged 90 and 92 — have been living in their own home, and I brought them from another state recently — and quite abruptly — to live in a senior independent living center three miles from my house.
Their health has been declining rapidly, and it’s time to move them closer — since they were a six-hour drive away and I work full-time.
Many of the things they’ve done for a lifetime, they can no longer do.
It’s been a huge transition for all of us.
They are, understandably, pretty overwhelmed and a little fearful of this significant life change that includes the loss of driving and part of their cherished independence.
And I — having never parented my parents before — am feeling the same way.
I just hope that during 2018 I can keep my parents in the forefront and use all the kindness, patience and compassion possible as I help them navigate their new life, one day at a time.
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