As Baby Boomers are now reaching the magic retirement years some of us still care for our parents either in our homes, assisted living or nursing homes. For many of us we still have immediate family in the places where our parents were raised. When death strikes those siblings are expected and in many cases desire to attend the final tribute of that sibling which requires travel for all involved. When this happens it is great to work with the funeral home, church and Pastor to come to a happy median of when a suitable time all may agree on when that service will take place. Caregivers have to arrange for time off if they are still working and the parent or love one involved has to be given the time to take a long car ride or other means of transportation. Many times that person also is suffering from some physical or mental ailment themselves so my suggestions are as follows. Leave at a early enough time to allow for food and bathroom breaks. Make sure you travel with something comfortable for your love one to sit upon doing the journey. Keep your love one hydrated between stops. Point out in travel conversation where you are in the trip. Do not react to them in a negative way if they have a outburst a lot of times they have not traveled in a very long time and this is just confusion on their part. Keep the interior of your transportation to their comfort level. Play music they can relate. Make frequent stops to allow them to rest, relax and stretch. Most of all stay prayerful on the trip.
[Originally Posted: June 22, 2015]
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