Another Piece of My Heart Broken

 I just had a lengthy convo with my oldest friend. Like us she is in the over 60 crowd and living alone. She buried both her mother and her sister in the last year and since her mother had a reverse mortgage, she had to sell the house. With what little money she got from that she rented a nice home for herself, her dogs and cats and her 40something nephew. Needless to say the nephew skyed up and left her alone with all the expenses. He didn’t even take his clothes. She’s at a point that she can no longer afford cable tv and internet. I would be going crazy with the silence so I’m going to try to find out what resources are available for limited income elders. I suggested that she place an ad for a roommate in the medical school paper but she’s worried about an unknown person and her antiques. If any of you read this and know the answers already please drop me a line.

ROLE REVERSAL ?

 Have any of you had a grown child move back home? And you’re happy about it? As we’ve discussed earlier, many of us are in straightened circumstances in our older single lives. The room mate thing may not seem like an ideal situation to some but what if it’s your adult child? What if they are helping out with expenses and taking some of the financial pressure off? 

  This seems a bit bizarre but I’m having difficulty accepting money from my son. Not that I’m saying no but it was weird when he picked up the tab for a pricey restaurant meal. Yes, I had to move into a more spacious flat but I’m really glad he’s here. This is the kid I provided with several cars since he went through a crash-em-up phase in years past. I paid for his education in two different fields and catered his wedding. I was always the Bank Of Mom when he and his former wife had financial problems. But this was when I was half of a couple and still working. My own parents cut all ties when I was 16 and I swore my children wouldn’t ever feel as adrift in the world as I did. It didn’t help that Daddy died when I was 23 and my mother had remarried. 

  My parents used to tell my brothers and me that once we were grown, they were going to take three four month vacations every year and spend them with us. What they meant was that they were going to divide their time between living with the three of us. Well, they’re gone and I’m the only sibling left. 

  So why does it feel so strange to feel like the recipient of a charity? That’s not a good explanation but the best I can come up with right now. Why do I feel like I should still be the giver? Not that I don’t enjoy having someone else change the oil and wiper blades on my car!