This comment came in from a whippersnapper we know in response to our post on Five Flights Up. It might be painful for some seniors to read, but the fact is, we need to be aware of the problems we can create for others.
“Ray, you forgot only one thing — how unfair it is for parents to remain in an unsustainable living arrangement that forces them into dependence on their kids for everything from shopping to cleaning house.
My mother had a million reasons for not moving into a retirement community when she was 75 or 80 — she was fine on her own, she couldn’t take her dog, etc., etc. She also had a million reasons for not buying a house on my sister’s block — she liked her home, she didn’t want to live on a hill, etc., etc.
The upshot: Mom at 89 is living in a huge two-story house, is unable to drive, relies on my sister for everything, and is completely unable to appreciate how dependent she has become. She wouldn’t dream of moving out unless the cops physically carried her out. It was quite selfish of her not to plan ahead.”
Common Sense for Seniors 
Oh boy do I have mixed feelings about this. I can understand it, but I also have been angry some times at cases in which aging people have been forced into lifestyles and places that they don’t want to be because they didn’t want to “worry” or “bother” their kids. It is one thing to move when it clearly becomes necessary because a person is helpless but in some cases the children want parents to do it before it is really necessary, just to make things easier. I think there are definitely stories on both sides of this issue.
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