Why did I create this blog?

As many people in my age group (50-something) are finding out, our aging parents are no longer as independent as they have been for most of our lives. From health conditions to memory problems to making sense of what their doctors tell them (or don't tell them), they may have challenges that they're no longer able to keep up with. So, just as we were dependent upon them in our early years, they are becoming more dependent upon us "youngsters" in their later years. This blog is intended for any adult child who is either at the beginning or in the midst of caring for a parent for whom he or she cares deeply. I will be sharing the caretaking situations that taught me things that I could have never learned without having gone through them, including housing issues, diet and nutrition concerns, health challenges, and sibling problems, to name a few.

Virginia Northrup (July, 1930 - July, 2012)

This blog is dedicated to my mom, Virginia Northrup, who was my hero throughout my life, as well as a wonderful source of knowledge, inspiration, compassion for others, and emotional support, especially through all of my challenges. At age 75, she suffered a stroke that not only changed the next 6+ years of her life, but dramatically changed mine then and will affect me forever.

She left us on July 17, 2012 to reunite with my dad, as well as her parents, her brothers, and our beloved dogs. My life was blessed to have her as my mom and her legacy will be carried on through the examples she set for me for the remainder of my life.

- Howard