Dealing with my family: February 2009 Archives

One step backward

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Dad feeling a little stubbornThe day after the big family meeting and we're all feeling good. The paperwork issues have all been worked out and soon the Power of Attorney will be signed; we're just waiting till the Notary comes in around noon. But as we gather at the UPS Store the word travels fast, Dad's not going to sign. "No problem," I say, trying to keep my mother calm, "we'll start with you". The Notary overhears him mumbling his objections and tells us that she won't be able to work with him. Fortunately I've again brought the paragraph-by-paragraph draft which shows my mother's initials, so the Notary's assured and we can proceed with mom.

This past summer my dad observed my mother and I having a spat. She was being difficult and I was pushing back. His advice, "let it pass, it will pass". A message of patience that I could apply to his resistance. So instead of signed paperwork I took him and my brother for a haircut across the street. The barbers didn't believe we're related since he has a full head of hair while my brother and I take after my mother's side of the family; someday we'll be bald as cue balls.

The Family Meeting

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Mom & Dad arrive for the Valentines Day weekend family meetingMom, Dad and all 5 children met in Newport Beach for a family meeting this Valentines Day weekend. My siblings and I felt that they had to have a Power of Attorney and a Living Will in place, and the Last Will & Testament had to be revised. Beyond paperwork, we wanted to hear their wishes; were they ready to sell the cottage, and if so, what about after the cottage?

How'd it go? It started out dramatically. Just before noon on Friday the 13th we had to dial 9-1-1. Mom has asthma and the prednisone she takes for it makes her skin paper thin so when she banged her leg against the bed frame it split wide open. After a trip to the emergency room and 17 stitches she was fine, but rattled.

The drama started on the way home from the airport. With my parents sitting in the back seat and unable to read lips, it took no time to realize their hearing had slipped another notch. Just mentioning getting it checked evoked a surprising reaction from my mother.