Posted on 11/27/2005 4:18:42 PM PST by Lorianne
WASHINGTON, Mich. - Until last February, Mary Ellen Geist was the archetypal career woman, a radio news anchor with a six-figure salary and a suitcase always packed for the next adventure, whether a third-world coup, a weekend of wine tasting or a job in a bigger market.
But now, Ms. Geist, 49, has a life that would be unrecognizable to colleagues and friends in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. She has returned to her family home near Detroit to care for her parents, one lost to dementia and the other to sorrow.
Ms. Geist sleeps in the dormered bedroom of her childhood and survives without urban amenities like white balsamic vinegar. She starts her days reminding her father, Woody, a sweet-tempered 78-year-old who once owned an auto parts company, how to spoon cereal from his bowl.
Then, in a Mercedes C230 that she calls the "last remnant of my other life," she takes him to adult day care, begging her mother to use her time alone to get a massage or take a painting class.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
This will give you pause.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Taking care of ones elderly parents used to be a normal thing. Now , everyone wants a 4500 square foot home for 2 people, but ship granny off to pasture somewhere.
I applaud this gal, but is it all that heroic?
Maybe she is just trying to keep the parents from spending all her inheritance on nurshing homes & by being the live-in child squeeze out other siblings & keep more for herself. Can you say "power of attorney"?
Did almost the same thing 4 years ago..left 60g's and went to 0 G's and now there gone and Iam trying to reconstruct....Iam a janitor for a local school...
Having spent 1999-2002 caring for my dad under the same circumstances, I fully appreciate what this gal is doing.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
I think so. My mother took care of her mother-in-law her last 3 years, a woman who never liked her daughter-in-law and was difficult in the best of times. It was a huge sacrifice for my mom, but she felt it was her duty.
>>>I applaud this gal, but is it all that heroic?<<<
Heroic? Probably not. But it is unusual in the "It's all about me" era we seem to be in. And worth noting.
Then there are some of us who refuse to dump their parents in a rest home for fear of their abuse or lonliness or both.
BUMP!
It's unusual for the Times to run a piece like this.
I'd say it was heroic, considering the times we live in.
Sorry to hear that. There's no way I'd let my Dad go to one either. Some way, somehow, we'd make it work.
Your cynical view of what seems to be an unselfish act doesn't say much for your perception of your fellow human beings.
Our son flew in from London and surprised us when we told him .....and she called him "nephew"........We cried and cried that night.
A prayer or two from those so inclined would be appreciated
"Maybe"....but maybe she was like us we split it all 3 ways after they were gone and the others respect me more for keeping the folks out of a home,I had no family they had kids etc and lived allover and out of the country...We had the $ to pay for a home for ever,the trusts, the power of attny the pre gifted assets,the works but those places suck,the same as some people I have incountered....
I don't mean to belittle anyone. No, not at all! I know it's a lot of work, even without special needs.
It just used to be a "normal thing" to do.
It's heroism of the everyday kind, in a different time it would have still been noble but not note worthy.
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