My mom. gotta love her. At 89 years old, she’s planning a big hoopla for her 90th and you’re all invited, her mind is as sharp as a tack and her verbal barbs stings like a bee. Constantly on the go that woman..and still driving. Frankly thats a little scary. But every time I broach the subject of her not driving she freaks, “you may as well put me six feet under now”, she says. Driving is her life line. “I’m a better driver than I am a walker.” She’s got a point. She also tells me how sometimes she gets hypnotized by the road and the meds she’s taking make her drowsy. She has almost fallen asleep at the wheel at least a half a dozen times. It reminds me of that tragic story in Santa Monica a few years ago. An elderly man was driving his vehicle and plowed into a busy street fair killing and injuring dozens of people. I am sure he felt the same way my mom does. Take the car away and you become a shut in, a prisoner of your own four walls.
It’s a catch 22, for sure.
The way we’ve decided to handle it is much like managing a new teen driver. My mom only drives during the day, only in the morning when she’s most altert and only short distances. She’s got a cell phone if she gets into trouble. For longer drives or trips to the doctors office we rotate between friends, family and neighbors. If she feels at all woozy she won’t get behind the wheel.
Managing your ailing and elderly parents is as much a responsibility as managing your children. You have to be the grown ups in these situations, be reasonable with your parents and remember they raised you to be the adult that you are today so you must give them the love and respect they afforded you.
