The old sayings are true / What next?

I've heard it said that people have children, so that when they grow old there is someone to take care of them. I've also heard the reference that we start as children unable to take care of ourselves, grow and learn, becoming strong and self sufficient, only to grow old and unable to do much of anything as when we were but children.

I'm having to deal with this situation more than I would like to, as the people who helped raise me are getting old. They're not as prepared to go forward as I'd have hoped. For whatever the reason, it will take more effort from their children to help them continue on in this life.  I am worried and scared of what it will take to see things through.

Money... A key factor in all of this, in that growing old is not for the poor. Everything is costing more and more and people are not earning what it takes to keep up. The elderly, living solely on social security, don't get enough to get through the month. Those same elderly then need to ask or beg for assistance from friends and family or find a job to get by.  Once you're in the autumn and winter of your life, you should be toiling at some piece of shit job just to keep living! This is America where a lifetime of hard work should have at least a reasonable payoff at the end, some time to just live and experience the world around you. But that's not the case. A lifetime of hard work has lead many Americans to a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle, with no means to save. Pensions are a thing of the past. Wallstreet has stockmarket millionaires who have make those millions from workers who don't how to truly utilize the 401k system. This brings us back to people in their twilight years, scrounging around, for any kind of job that will help keep the lights on and food in the fridge.

America should have done better.
Americans deserve better!

As a single man with no children, what is in store for my future? Living in a tent? Scrounging for cans so that I can collect the deposit? Death by malnutrition because I can't afford the rising costs of food? I don't really know...

I ask these questions and bring up this topic because this is what I'm currently dealing with, a parent who has worked their whole life with nothing left to show for it. We all make mistakes, but there are times when life throws that curveball and everything you've worked for, everything you've saved is gone and you're starting from scratch again, only this is what happened for my parent who is at retirement age. You can't restart from scratch when you're nearly 70!

For my part, I will do what can to help. Do what I must to make sure he is well, has food, a means to communicate with the outside world, but it's hard. It's a weight on my shoulders that I didn't think I would have to bare. And though I have siblings, it feels as if the entire burden is mine to carry alone.

Sometimes, it's just hard to deal with...
Sometimes, I wish I didn't have to deal with it...
But I deal with it. I try to give reassurance that everything will be alright soon.
I try to be the son that my stepmom believed in and loved. To be the son that my father believes in and loved without question.

Sometimes, it's just really hard.



To those that find this blog, peace to you. Let someone you care about know that you are with them.
Know it or not, it makes a difference.