We all have joked about when it comes to me just shoot me or in my case I always say when I get this bad or sick I am taking a bottle of sleeping pills. It has been an additional stress sometimes when I have a bad day with my Dad I think please God I don't want to put my kids through this. I retired when the Grand children started coming so I could babysit during the day, unfortunately the week the twins were born (grandchildren #'s 3 & 4) was the week Dad was diagnosed with AD and Mom with dementia. It has been 5 years of sometimes having to choose between my kids and their kids and my parents.

I think that my husband and I have decided to move to an over 55 condo or complex that also offers NH type care as we need it when the time comes. I also know that as we age we don't want to go and that I will probably never really commit suicide although I think as baby boomers age it is going to be a topic of discussion. My Dad is always saying that he and my Mom lived too long, they should have died about 10 years ago. They offer euthanasia in the Netherlands and I always thought it was a good idea.

Anybody else feel afraid of doing this to their children?

What if you don't have children?

Our friends who don't have children have made better plans than us. They have all thought about the future and what it might bring. Most of them work in the realm of NH's and are very aware of what could happen. They have been a wonderful source of info, and have given great advice on how to deal with the various events of my parents. It's probably their insights that lead me to my "musings" about how I want to go. I also lived in the Netherlands and saw how well different forms of "end of life" can work.
I think I'm being a little morbid because my Mom died at Xmas and my Dad is failing and probably won't last much longer.

I think about this all the time - mainly because I only have 1 child, and since I am the youngest of 5 and we have all worked together to get Mom into an ALF and have dealt with this disease together.

What will my poor son do IF this happens to me?

What will I do with my oldest sister who has no children and has already showed signs of memory issues?

Scares the CR*P out of me....

I suspect we all get scared when we think well into the future. It can be bleak. Maybe that's all the more reason to focus on now. On today. And live each day the best we can. Savoring it. One day at a time. Seems to me that I can find something to be happy about on any given day. And so, I try to focus on that. Today, I'm enjoying a nice sunny day in Arizona. The high is supposed to be 74 degrees. And I'm going for a walk. It feels nice being alive. Oh, my Jeanne died about 14 months ago. But I'm not dwelling on that. It was a while back. I'm busy living today. As for tomorrow, I'll deal with it when tomorrow arrives. And I'll find a way to make the best of it. I'll probably spend a good part of tomorrow watching the Chicago Cubs play an exhibition baseball game. I'll enjoy it. Even if the Cubs lose. Yes, I don't need everything. And I'm still happy with my lot in life. --Jim