The Aging Parents Role Reversal: Five Coping Strategies You Need

There comes a time in life when the roles reverse. The parents who brought you up, cared for you, gave you your values and nursed you through every phase of life... suddenly need your help. It seems to happen overnight, and it's a startling realization that you're now the primary adult and decision-maker in the relationship.

If you find yourself struggling with the new change, it's worth making the time to take a few steps to help you adjust to the new situation. With a little time investment, you can ensure the new status quo is one that works for everyone.

1. Give yourself a chance to be upset. When you realize that your parents are aging and may not be able to make the same decisions they used to, it's heartbreaking. Give yourself some time to adjust rather than trying to force yourself to be okay with it. It's a big change, a sudden assumption of responsibilities for you and a fresh set of concerns. It's normal for you to feel thrown by it.

2. Make sure you know what to look for. There is a significant risk of degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease or dementia as people age, and this is something you need to be aware of. With treatment and therapy, these conditions can become a lot more manageable and significantly increase the quality of life for your loved one. So familiarize yourself with the warning signs, and if necessary, seek medical advice.

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3. Get the information you need. If you work and/or care for your children, there's every chance you might not have many spare hours to care for an ailing parent. Or perhaps you literally can't be there, if you now live in a different part of the country. Discuss with your parents and see what routes they would prefer to go down in the future. Perhaps they would prefer at-home for Alzheimer's care or are more reassured by the idea of a retirement community. It might even be feasible for you to bring them into your own home - but these are all conversations you need to have as early as possible. Facing these realities will help ease anxiety for all concerned.

4. Think the worst. Try and run through a few likely scenarios and think of how you would deal with them. If your parents called you in the middle of the work day and said they were feeling unwell, what would you do? Would you need any outside assistance from anyone else? Might you need a care agency, or perhaps they need a nurse for this exact situation? Run through the possibilities and see how you would respond.

5. Know where to get help. When you do the above exercise, you may realize you need a nurse or other support staff to assist you in caring for your parents. So source such assistance as soon as possible, before the crisis hits. You can be reassured you have got the right plans in place should the worst happen. Your parents will also have the time to meet and get to know anyone who might be assisting you, making it easier for all concerned.

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There's no doubt it's a difficult adjustment to make, but with a few precautionary steps, you can walk forward ready for what comes next.

Mid-Life Joint Issues? Here's What I'm Doing to Work on That

For some reason, last year around my 45th birthday my body started freaking out on me. I have always been a walker ... walking a couple of miles a day no problem as well as about 5,000 steps a day just living my normal life. Slowly I started to notice my left knee was hurting and my hip as well (more like toward the pelvis). In the fall I went to a physical therapist, who helped some by kneading my IT band (Google it ... I had no idea it connected to so much stuff) until I nearly cried and was sweating from the pain (and I've given birth naturally before, friends, so when I say it hurt, I mean it FLIPPING HURT). I got a big roller for my butt and IT band. I got a tiny rolling pin on Amazon to carry around for on the go. One day they put me on the Pilates machine after pretty much ignoring me for other, double-booked patients, the machine made things worse, and I didn't go back.

I went to my doctor and he was unhelpful. I was thinking an X-ray of my pelvic region and knee just in case but he's like, "Stretch and walk with your toes more pointed out."

Neither of these professionals told me to take a supplement and I started to wonder why they wouldn't recommend that along with the stretching and exercises. They just kind of had an attitude like, "Oh, you're just getting older and are 5'2" and weigh 155 pounds so there you go [although neither of them told me to lose weight, which they SHOULD HAVE]."

So I said, "Forget you guys. I'm doing this my dang self. I'm going to take a pill supplement and then I'm going to try this powder. And if those don't work I'm  hitting a chiropractor next."

I just started on this supplement but want to hit it hard once my pills are gone. It's a once a day thing. Stinks bad but tastes good so don't be put off by the smell and I'm sure my joints are going to thank me for this, according to reviews.

ProAlphaNutrition is, interestingly enough, co-owned by a KC family we met in Wyoming in 2012! They also have stuff like greens and other healthy things so check them out!

Got this on Amazon and I take 2 a day usually

You really have to continue using these products to see any results. I used the pills for over a month before I realized that I was going to bed without Advil and I wasn't crying at the end of the day from pain. Back in December I was so depressed and resigned to gaining weight from lack of exercise (my love = walking) and I had no hope. But I am not a hopeless kind of girl. I am a happy girl so I gave supplements a shot and so far so good. I am not 100% ... I have to take it slow. But now a 10,000-step day, which before would have been impossible and very painful to try to sleep through later, is not really such a big deal. I do have to stretch or muscles get too tight but so far I'm not doing a huge list of exercises. Sometimes I do have to massage my IT band but that's to be expected.

How are your joints? Upper or lower. Are you noticing your mobility changing in your 40s?

Property Problems: How To Make Selling Your Home Easier

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If there's one thing, just about everyone can agree on it's that selling your house can be a seriously stressful experience. For many people, it just about the most stressful and difficult thing that they'll ever do. Not only do you have a lot of money on the line but there's also a chance that you're hoping for it to happen as quickly as possible so that you're able to move to a new place. There are few things more frustrating than finding yourself unable to buy your dream home because your old one simply hasn't sold yet. But things don't always need to be that way; there are plenty of things that you can do in order to make sure that selling your home is as simple and easy as possible. While this advice can't promise to make the whole process particularly enjoyable, it can help you avoid pulling your hair out with frustration. So, here are a few things that you can do to make selling your home just a little bit easier.

Start early

When you're selling your home, it's usually because you've decided to move to somewhere new. The problem is that many people become so wrapped up in their future plans that they don't think about the time frame that they should be working with. Don't start looking for new properties until the process of selling your home is well underway. Far too often people find their perfect home but lose out because they were still waiting on the sale. If you start the process as early as possible, then you're in a much better position to buy and sell within a sensible time frame. Not only that but the sooner you get your house onto the market, the sooner you can get a decent sense of exactly what you need to do in order to make it sell. You might have overestimated what buyers would be willing to pay, or you might have found that the way you lay out the property doesn't actually show off, it's best qualities as effectively as possible. By learning these things early then, you're going to be able to make adjustments without rushing or panicking about them.

Break the chain

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Getting stuck in a chain when you're selling your property can be incredibly frustrating. It can often leave you waiting around for months when you're more than ready to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. If you can, taking the chance to break the chain is a fantastic idea. Marketing the property to first-time buyers is one of the best things that you can do because they are often in a position where they will want to buy as soon as possible. This allows you to dictate the time frame for selling the property and keeps you in much more control than if you were at the mercy of someone else's schedule. If you're not in a rush to move into somewhere new, or if you have somewhere that you can go when you do sell the property, that will help as well. It won't necessarily make the property sell more easily, but it will make the entire process much easier and less stressful for you.

Make it presentable

You're obviously not selling the contents of the property but you'd be surprised at what a difference presenting your property well can make. When people view a property, they want to be able to imagine it as a home, not just as a building. By seeing that it's being lived in, they can get a much more distinct sense of what it would be like for them. Of course, it's easy to go too far with this. You don't want to fill the property up with too much clutter; otherwise prospective buyers aren't going to be able to see visualize the property at all because it's so covered in your stuff. It's incredibly important that you prepare your house for sale. Make sure that it looks inviting, yet neutral. A few personal touches here and there are fine, just don't go overboard with them if you can help it. It's also a good idea to think about the front of the house. Most people tend to only focus on the interior but don't forget that the front is the first thing most buyers actually see. Make sure that the front yard is well maintained and the door has a fresh coat of paint as well. These small touches really can make a whole world of difference.

Find the right agent

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The right real estate agent can make a huge difference on how easy it is to sell your home. You've got to make sure to find one who can market your property in the right places; this means that it's a good idea to look at the kinds of properties that they've dealt with in the past. If they have a decent amount of experience with the same kinds of properties and buyers that you have in mind, then you can feel fairly secure and confident that your home will be in good hands. Also, if things aren't really going the way you want them to, don't feel shackled to a single agent. Their job is to help you sell your home, and if they're not doing that, then there's nothing wrong with moving over to someone else who is going to help you. Finding the right agent really can be the difference between finally selling your house and it sitting on the market for months, even years at a time!

Whatever you do, selling your home is never going to be a particularly simple or relaxing process, but with this advice, you'll be able to make the most of it without losing out financially or going insane from stress and frustration.

It’s Never Too Late to Learn New Skills

A lot of people get through life by working hard and sticking to their job. In fact, a lot of people would prefer to find a job to work in as soon as possible instead of spending time and money on college or university. This Is usually caused by all the horror stories people share online about being unable to find a job regardless of your qualification because very few people will hire someone without experience.

However, as you grow older and move on in life, you’ll find that there are many job opportunities that you simply can’t take because you don’t have the correct qualifications despite having enough experience. Luckily, it’s never too late to learn something new, be it a new skill or pick a hobby that you never knew you wanted. Learning can empower us, open new business prospects such as working from home and enlighten us about life.

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Online learning

With so many online resources that are both free and paid, there’s never been a better time to pick up a new skill and learn something fun or interesting. Online courses might even come with a degree if you take the right courses or if the service you use offers them.

If learning a skill via online courses it all too formal, then there are hundreds of YouTube guides that will teach you everything from cooking your favorite cuisines to knitting a jumper for a friend or loved one. With so many options available and online retailers to supply the equipment and materials for your skill skills and hobbies, there’s no excuse not to get started today.

A degree

You might have heard the time bachelor degree many times, but what is a bachelor degree? The short version is that it’s a degree awarded by a college or university upon completing a course of study that has to last around three to seven years. It is usually enough to find a good job and can help to empower your current career and open up more opportunities for you.

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Studying for a bachelor's degree can take a very long time depending on what subjects you pick. Luckily, you can start studying for a degree no matter what your age is—it’s never too late to learn! There are many people that change their minds despite having worked at a job for a very long time. These people live happily with their jobs, but something will always spur them on and convince them to try something new and it’s usually their curiosity that drives them to try something new and go back to studying. You could get your GRE Certification (http://crushthegretest.com/) and head to graduate school.

A degree can be what it takes to turn your life around. Whether you’re suffering at your regular job because you feel you picked the wrong career choice or if you just fancy a chance, don’t assume that you’re too old to start studying for a new degree. Work hard, gather up enough money or look for financing options, and don’t be afraid to go back to university or college to learn something new.

Chocolate-Dipped Team Challenge #Swagbucks

Here's another fun team challenge to help you earn SB from Swagbucks! For those of you who don't know what Swagbucks is, it's a website where you can earn cash back on everyday tasks you do online like shopping, answering surveys, discovering deals, and watching videos. You can even earn for searching the web! 

If you've never tried Swagbucks before because you didn't know where to begin, their Team Challenges are a great way to learn the ropes!

They have one themed around Valentine's Day - the Chocolate-Dipped Team Challenge begins Monday, February 13th. 

Here's how you can join the challenge and the site:

1. Click here to join the challenge and be assigned to a team. Pre-registration is going on right now! If you don't already have an account, you can sign up on this page as well.

2. Starting February 13th at 8am PT, in addition to earning SB you'll contribute points to your teams total as you complete different activities on Swagbucks.

3. Check back on the page often to see the scores and what you've contribute so far. 

All members who participate and contribute at least 400 points to their team’s total will receive a SB bonus in the form of a SB Swag Up Rebate on their next gift card! 

Not only that, but if you earn 300 SB before March 1st, you'll get a 300 SB bonus (as long as you've signed up under me)!

Members of the 1st place team will receive a 50 SB Swag Up Rebate, members of the 2nd place team will receive a 25 SB Swag Up Rebate, members of the 3rd place team will receive a 10 SB Swag Up Rebate. Your SB Swag Up Rebate will be made available on Friday, February 17th and will expire on Tuesday, February 28th 11:59pm PT