Topic: solo aging
Sarah never learned to downhill ski, but now that she’s retired, she felt it was time. Her grandkids are avid skiers, and they’ve been asking her for years to enjoy the sport with them. Of course, Sarah’s grands are hitting more advanced ski runs while she’s mastering the snowplow and other skills on the bunny hill. But eventually, with patience, planning, and practice, she knows she’ll be able to join them.
Sarah applied a similar approach to planning for her own aging. Having barely survived the “nightmare,” as she calls it, of trying to navigate her parents aging journey without the benefit of planning, she wanted to avoid a similar trajectory with her own family.
At the encouragement of a friend, Sarah engaged Aging Wisdom for a Proactive Planning consultation. …
Nearly one-third of adults who are 55 and older are aging solo, navigating aging without a life partner or children. Top of mind for many solo agers is who will advocate for them when they need assistance.
Proactive planning is essential. …
Your healthcare power of attorney (HCPOA) is an individual you trust to speak for you when you are unable to voice your own decisions: A car accident, surgery, coma, dementia.
In such circumstances, doctors need someone who knows you well and has had conversations with you to guide them in terms of the medical procedures you would or would not want. …
We tend to think friendships should grow organically. They don’t. Particularly in our later years, when we often lose friends—to death, illness, or moving away—we need to be much more intentional about making new ones.
This is especially so for “solo agers,” those without children and grandchildren. The younger generations in the family typically make up a large portion of the average older adult’s social network. …
Aging comes to us all. What makes solo aging different is the need to be more proactive about arranging for help. Twenty-two percent of older adults acknowledge they will need to take care of themselves. (Even if you are partnered now or have children, you are wise to consider the possibility of solo aging because, well, things can change … death, divorce, estrangement. In that light, we are all potential solo agers.) …