Postcards from Planet Eldercare: the Final Frontier

Take two retired Boomers. Add one elderly mother-in-law and her deranged Chihuahua, a steady diet of sleep deprivation, and a passel of monotonous routines. What do you get? Days (and sometimes nights) filled with laundry, mixed nuts, repeats of repeats, and better-laugh-or-you'll-cry moments. Late-life care can be the elephant in the room. We ignore it because ? well, what do you do with something large and foreign that you?d rather not discuss? Should you wait until it devours the houseplants and starts in on the pantry, or plan for a future that includes provisions for eldercare? Through wry anecdotes, subtle lessons, and the author's sketches, "Postcards" chronicles one couple's experiences and strategies for tending a family elder. It's part personal story and part how-to. Included are sections providing 40+ Products that Work and 30+ tips for Easing into Providing Care. Writes author Riley: "Tenders like us are home-grown experts with credentials gained through trial and error, and sometimes error and error, and of course I?m only an expert on matters relating to our family and my part in them. I can?t write you a prescription for building a case for assisted living, or arranging your life to include your elder in your home, but you might learn from our tactics and thereby help your own family members through their post-golden years. If your planning or negotiations are helped through citing an acknowledged, if narrowly defined, expert, here goes: I acknowledge my expertise at elder tending and you may cite my advice to your heart?s content."