Medicare Open Enrollment 2026: A Caregiver’s Checklist for Reviewing a Parent’s Plan
The envelope has been on the counter since September. It’s thick, it carries the plan’s logo, and the front says “Important information about your Medicare plan.” Your mother has moved it twice to wipe the counter. Neither of you has opened it. That envelope is the Annual Notice of Change, and it’s the reason to […]
Signs of Dementia: What to Watch For and How to Bring It Up
Your father has told you the story about the fishing trip twice since lunch. He tells it well both times. You laugh the second time, and then on the drive home you stop laughing. One repeated story is not dementia. Almost everyone loses keys, names, and the reason they walked into a room. What you’re […]
Sundowning and the Time Change: How to Prepare for Shorter Days
Around 4:30, the light turns gray, and your mother starts looking for her purse. She’s going home, she says. She has lived in this house for thirty-one years. If you’ve watched this happen, you know how fast an easy afternoon can turn. If you haven’t, you may see it soon, and the weeks around the […]
Aging in Place Before Winter: A Room-by-Room Home Safety Checklist
Walk up your parents’ driveway at dusk in November. Do it once, before the first frost. Notice the step you never thought about, the porch light that flickers, the stretch of path where leaves will turn to ice. Most older adults want to stay in their own homes, and most homes were not built with […]
Holiday Visits: How to Check In on Aging Parents Without Starting a Fight
You get to your parents’ house the day before Thanksgiving, and you open the fridge to put away the pie. There is expired milk. There are three jars of the same mustard. The crisper drawer is empty, and your father says he’s been eating out. On the porch, you notice a new dent in the […]
