When Your Parents Grow Old

I always thought my Mom would remain the same forever. The feisty tiger mom  who made sure I would learn to be independent and successful. I was lucky to be the youngest because she was much more strict with my siblings. She was still strict until I finally moved out of the house when I got married. 

Mom was our rock when we lost Dad. I didn't even see her cry. She took care of everything and just kept busy with her garden and crafts after. We were so worried we had Titay move in with her. She ended up taking care of Tito Mon and Titay until they passed on. She's the strong one. To her being too emotional is nonsense. 

She's now 86 years old and she has more energy than me. She still spends a lot of time gardening and doing crafts. Her memory though isn't as sharp anymore, but she's feisty and stubborn as ever. She refuses to move in with me and wants to remain independent. We're lucky because she has no maintenance meds and just takes vitamins. 

I realized though that we should have mandated to take over managing her home and finances. That's how the thief took advantage of her. I asked to take over it when I got home last November, but she refused saying that things were working well for her. Good thing the bank started sending automated messages whenever a withdrawal was made. That's how I caught the thief. So for those with elderly parents, do check their finances because bad people can take advantage of them. 

I've been doing Mom's groceries. The good thing about it I can order more healthy food for her. I remove unhealthy food from the grocery list that's sent to me every other week, i.e. noodles or canned goods. My siblings also send her food every so often. The bills are easier to manage now since I've been able to enroll all of them online. Gcash has been my best friend for paying bills haha. 

Taking care of an elderly parent should seriously be part of what they teach in school. Everyone has to go through it and it's easier if you understand what you need to do. I grew up thinking my parents would remain the same forever because that's what they told me. Mom made it appear that things were going well in her home. If not for the bank's SMSs I wouldn't have known the extent of the damage the thief was doing. 

Keep your parents happy while they're still around. Give them what they want even though sometimes it's not practical hehe. 

#BeKind #StaySafe