May has finally arrived and it’s time to celebrate…..warmer temperatures, Spring storms, budding gardens, and Senior Citizens. That’s right, May is Older Americans month and I wanted to turn the spotlight on one of the fastest growing sectors of ourpopulation. Seniors are in better shape and more active than ever these days. Through various organizations and Seniors’ centers they’re participating daily in a wide variety of fun and educational programs including line dancing, gardening, traveling and even senior softball.
According to a recent article viewed in YAHOO! News, “turning 100 isn’t such a big deal anymore. America’s population of centenarians — already the largest in the world — has roughly doubled in the past 20 years to around 72,000 and is projected to at least double again by 2020, perhaps even increase seven-fold, according to the Census Bureau.”
This increased level of health and longevity has led seniors to remain happily independent much later in life than they have in the past. While this is great for the senior, it’s often difficult for their grown children who tend to fret and worry much like their parents did about them when they were youngsters. This can lead them to put pressure on their parents to move into an assisted living facility or in with them before they’re ready.
Here at the Frisco Public Library, we have several books designed to help adult children cope with caring for aging parents, but it was brought to my attention several months ago by my friend Milo, that we have nothing from the aging parent’s perspective…nothing that deals with how they feel when faced with such a major transition in their lives.
That’s when I suggested to Milo (a retired psychologist, himself in his 70s), that he may want to conduct his own research into this issue, and that’s just what he did. He developed and distributed a questionnaire, spoke at various Seniors’ Centers, and worked through whatever literature he could find on the subject (which wasn’t a lot). Here’s some of what he discovered:
- At present, a little over 50% of seniors (parents) live in their own homes and close to 25% are living with adult children.
- That 25% translates to more than 4 million adults currently living with their adult children…almost 70% more than were in the year 2000.
- If this trend continues, adult children and their parents will spend more time together than the parents and their children spent growing up in the home.
Some reasons for this phenomenon:
- Housing costs are too great for many seniors to maintain their own homes.
- The economy in general has hit seniors’ savings hard.
- The increasing rise in medical costs are more than many seniors can afford unless general living costs are reduced considerably.
- A desire to live closer to children and grandchildren when they are working less and have more leisure time
No matter what the reason, or who makes the ultimate decision, it’s a complicated issue and one that can be very emotional for both sides.
BUT, maybe it doesn’t have to be. What Milo discovered in listening to his fellow seniors is that they want what we all want:
- To be active
- To be respected
- To be appreciated
- To have their voices heard
- To have their individuality seen and validated
- To have space to grow and evolve
- To be role models for how to grow older well
What they don’t want is:
- To be a burden
- To be pitied, or
- To be seen as “over the hill”
So I have an idea….although May is designated as “Older Americans” month…let’s take the opportunity to celebrate our seniors every day. After all, we’re all going to be one some day!
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Lorrie Puchala |
| Library Assistant | |
| lpuchala@friscotexas.gov |
|
Lorrie Puchala |
| Library Assistant | |
| lpuchala@friscotexas.gov |
Tags: Caregiving, Older Americans Month, senior citizens, Seniors
