The initial purpose of writing this journal was to clear my head of the trauma that I had carried with me these past months. I needed to come to peace after experiencing the most difficult time of my life. Only after I began writing did I realize that my story could possibly provide help for others who might experience similar pain. In my search for information that might help me understand parental caregiving, I found a great deal of clinical material, but I was disappointed that very little personal information was available. I then decided to write about my own experience and to offer my insights and hope to others who are struggling with what to do when Mom and Dad cant take care of themselves. Perhaps it will help others process their emotions when they enter this crucible.I also included information that might help the reader understand my own background as a baby boomer, who left his family of origin to seek his fortune. This unfolds as a familiar story to many that survived the 70s and 80s and discovered how dark the broad road can become. This is a reminder that there is always hope when those times come, and they will come. More than 90 million Baby Boomers in the world became 60 years old in 2003, at a rate of one every 6.5 seconds. The United States Census Bureau projects that more than 62 million Americans will be 65 or older in 2025, up 78% from 2001. Studies indicate they will slowly begin relying on others to help them make important decisions that they will no longer be able to make alone. In todays busy world, current and future caregivers are ill prepared to meet the demands of parents who become unable to care for themselves. My children will probably have more difficulty managing my senior years than I did with my mother and father. The reason for this is that the expectations of my senior years will probably be vastly different from my parents. With modern drugs to prolong life, a desire for better health, a taste of the good life as a Baby Boomer, and less financial security than my mother and father, my senior years could be filled with frustrations for my children. When providing care to our parents, many challenging questions emerge, such as: 1. How does one recognize when parents cannot care for themselves? 2. When are parents unable to manage their own medication, drive their car or cook for themselves? 3. Do they need assisted living or a skilled nursing home? 4. How does one find the best senior living facility for Mom and Dad? 5. How much does insurance cover and who will pay for the expenses? These are only a few of the many questions that confronted me over these past few years and which will, no doubt, confront others. Informative and helpful resources are limited. Many of us freeze and do not know what to do in these situations, resulting in mixed feelings bound up with various forms of denial, resistance and fear. When parents are confronted with the need to give up their drivers license, have someone manage their money, organize and dispense their medications and tell them when and what they can eat, resistance is likely. We are asking our parents to relinquish their last strong holds of independence and freedom with these changes. Discussing these issues over dinner with Mom and Dad can make for heated emotional conversations.A quick review of traditional periodicals found daily in seniors mail boxes will reveal what they are now concerned about: identity theft, the high cost of prescription drugs, abandonment by their children, general complexity about world events, future failure of Medicare, and corporate retirement fund thieves. The tabloid type scare TV shows often give seniors just enough information to send them under the bed in fear (e.g. Social Security will soon be broke, and so forth). No wonder depression and suicide are at an all time high among senior adults. This book is a chronicle of my own personal experiences beginning with my learning that my sister had terminal cancer and that I was needed to assume the responsibility of caring for our parents who lived 2000 miles away. I write about these experiences, to offer the reader ideas of what might be done when faced with similar circumstances. I have reported the human factors that take so much energy, yet are seldom discussed by anyone who has traveled this road. I am not surprised that there is so little personal material available on this topic, because I found it very painful to relive all of these feelings as I wrote. I often felt as if I were the only one who had ever gone through such chaos.