Finding Oneself
by Ricardo/U.S.A.
I have been posting on this wonderful site that Wendy has established for a number of years now, perhaps five, about a year prior to retiring.
A theme that I continue to see and read on this site is that many individuals either follow their children or grandchildren to areas to be close to them geographically. Well, often times it does not work and they are not happy campers after they have made the move.
In the area that I presently live in, which is a restricted age community, time and time again I speak with people that have moved in order to be close to "family".....MOST, are not happy with the move. Either the wife or husband may be satisfied with the decision, BUT, the other is not.
We all have to realize that once our children have grown and developed their own families, things change, and we have to accept the fact that our relationships with them change as well. They are busy with their lives, and WE have all the time in the world....are worlds do not mesh!
It might be one thing when the grandchildren are little and you can cuddle with them and share precious moments, BUT, as they grow, the basketball, football, and all the other activities that one attends over the years become less and less frequent.
Now, here you are in a place that you probably are not happy with, and your kids have their lives, your grandchildren are developing their lives, and you look at each other and say, "now what?"
We moved to be close to family, we found them, and now, WE are lost. Where do we go from here?
I suppose that this is all part of the natural evolution of families in general, but, so many elders seem to be sooo disappointed with how life plays out in their senior years.....
Ricardo has no answers, JUST, observations.
