Are you caring for one or both of your parents? Chances are, if they are still with us, then you are or you will very very soon. If you are living with them, or they are living with you the answer is easy – yes. But be honest, even if they are not living with you, how much are doing for them right now? Is it more than you were doing a year ago? It’s a good chance that if your parents are alive you are going to get pulled into their world more than you ever planed. It is the nature of family to assist our elders when they start to get frail. But there is a point when it starts to take over our lives. What starts out as an occasional shopping trip starts to become…more. Pretty soon you are finding your plans always taking into account mom or dad. You may already feel stretched thin, maybe even a little bit resentful.

So now we are looking at two groups. The dedicated, committed caregiver of which there are over 10 million in the US. That’s right 10.9 million unpaid caregivers as of this year 2010. If you are one, do yourself a favor, seriously, sign up on my website, sign up on someone elses website, but stop trying to do it alone. There are people out there trying to help you.

Then there is the other group. Those of you that are weekend parents to your parents. You are doing the little things, helping them fill prescriptions, get new hearing aides, take them out for a meal, etc. But its getting worse isn’t it? Are you getting the phone calls every day? You will. Are you setting up their pills in those weekly containers? You will. Are you thinking they could benefit from one of those senior homes that provide companionship and care? you will. You will do all that and more. Because if your parents are alive, they are going to need help, they are not as independent as they used to be, and it gets worse. When you were not looking, you became a parent to your parents.

It is time to do something. Whatever you are doing for your folks, I can almost guarantee that you’re working harder than you have to, and you’re spending more money than have to, and for every idea you have, somebody else thought about and perfected it! Look, you are on internet as you read this, right? Everything you could imagine is here. But its a big place. It could take you a while to find what you need, and you might miss some good stuff altogether. You found this article, and that’s a good start. Why don’t you take me up on my offer: sign up for my list. I will send you nothing but the best information, on just about any subject that has to do with aging, parents, caregiving, dementia, and much much more.