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Burdening Our Children As We Age
This is not anything I want to do
I read Jessica Valenti’s post about how helping older parents can add yet another job to women who may already be struggling. It hit a chord for me.
My wife and I are in our seventies and are still quite capable of handling our daily lives. However, I have had to call upon my daughter to help with some things now and then. I feel very guilty whenever that happens.
A Winter Coat
For example, yesterday my wife asked me to help her order a new winter coat. Usually, that might mean she is having trouble with some poorly designed web interface, so I went to help. But it turned out that the actual problem was deciding which of several styles to order. Long or short, pockets or no, fur collars or not …
This sounds trivial to most men. It would be trivial to me as well, but I know it can be much more difficult for my wife. Aside from what looks good and will fit well, she also has a bit of OCD and will worry about making a mistake. I tried to walk her through a decision…
