Finding the right gifts for family members is an annual challenge, especially this year when everyone is feeling economic uncertainty. Gift giving is more meaningful when you know that the item you’ve chosen will have personal significance to the recipient. I know I feel as if I am throwing away money when I rush to buy a gift for the sake of getting “something’ for the holiday pilgrimage and family gift exchange.

Senior housing assisted living and independent living communities are not immune to the financial and real estate market downturn.

It is no surprise that the slowed real estate market, failed financial institutions, dried up access to debt and plummeting stock market conditions have all contributed to all-time lows in assisted living stock market valuations.

Our every-day responsibilities can make it difficult to be there for our parents when they need us, especially as their health begins to require more our attention more often. In response to this issue technologies have come about to help balance duties as a caregiver and life as a busy adult. 

Given the fact that both parents were in their 80’s with mild dementia and other chronic illnesses, we selected a new independent living community which initially represented that they would be adding assisted living within 6 months to a year of opening. When we gave them our down payment, they assured us they had applied for an assisted living license and were just waiting for the survey results.

We hadn’t a clue where to begin the search for senior housing. We started with a geographic search on Google for senior housing and found dozens of websites- mostly advertisements or placement agencies offering to help us find the best options.

We are all busy people with active lives of our own. When the decision was made to put the folks’ house on the market and to use the proceeds to fund their rent in a retirement community, we wondered how we would downsize 3,000 square feet of lifelong possessions into a 750 square foot apartment.

Despite the fact that I have a nursing background and had worked in a nursing home early in my career, I had no knowledge about alternative options for assisted living or residential care home that cater to older Americans.

We are called the sandwich generation - 34 million Americans like me caring for dependent parents. Just when I thought our four kids in their 20’s had reached a desired level of social and financial independence, we find ourselves experiencing the unexpected calling to care for our parents with similar needs to those of our children when they were young.