Everyone gets older – that is a fact of life. However, when those closest to us age it can can be quite difficult seeing their physical and mental well being alter – especially if those people are our parents. We have a perception of our parents, that they will never get old and will remain the same way as when we were younger. This is not a fantasy that people develop, it is common for a lot of us to associate our parents with memories from childhood, and when we see them age and realize they are aging, it can be pretty difficult for us to deal with.
Our parents probably do not enjoy getting older, either. They probably can’t do as many things as they would like and find tasks that were simple before have now become harder for them to do. With this in mind, it is important that we realize they may need some help in certain parts of life – and we should take the time to ask they what they need help with and endeavour to assist them. They are our parents, after all.
One of the places where they may need extra help is around the home. Housework, as we know, can tend to be a difficult task and can use up a lot of energy. From vacuuming, to the laundry, to washing up, DIY tasks, and gardening, there can be a lot of housework to do and, if you sense that your parents may be struggling with it – ask them.
If your dad used to do a lot of DIY around the house, working on the interior and exterior, then ask your partner to go there and help with various jobs. Or, you could ask friends to help. Of course, there are companies out there who can help you, too, and with aspects like electricity jobs or foundation repair it is always a good idea to contact professionals to help.
Gardening can evolve into a problem if the garden is not maintained to the level it was at before. If your parents take pride in their garden but they can’t do jobs such as mowing the lawn or de-weeding as well as they used to, this could make them frustrated and anxious. In your free time, or even on the weekend, head over to their house and mow the lawn for them, get rid of those weeds or even do something simple and easy like brushing stray leaves off the grass.
Your parents may also appreciate it if you were to prepare a meal for them and give it to them as a gift. The meal does not have to be something fancy, it can be something relatively easy like a pasta dish but this means that they will not be using valuable energy up, preparing and cooking a meal in the kitchen. It may not seem like a lot to do, for you, but enabling them to eat nutritionally and well, can take the stress off you.