CC Young hosts ‘aging together’ event

By Michelle Metzger

As Baby Boomers face their own challenges with future care decisions and limited senior living options, their adult children also have their own concerns about planning for the future for their aging parents — often having their own priorities and concerns that can make the discussion about what to do a challenge.

To give both groups the tools they need to start these delicate conversations, CC Young Senior Living will host older adult advocate and author Missy Buchanan for two informative presentations on Wed., Oct. 23. The first presentation, “Aging is a Family Adventure and it’s not all negative!” will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the second presentation, “Adventure versus Dread: What it takes to pivot and embrace changes as we age” will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at The Point Auditorium on the CC Young Campus.  

“According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, more than half of Americans in their 40s are ‘sandwiched’ between an aging parent and their own children,” says CC Young Senior Living President and Chief Executive Officer Russell Crews. “As we age, conversations about senior living and retirement become more frequent and more complex. We see a need to equip both seniors and their adult children with information and some tools to proactively begin what historically can be uncomfortable conversations. At CC Young, we want to be a critical resource for everyone in the family as they look to the future care needs.”

One of the biggest challenges in senior living is how differently seniors and their adult children approach the topic, even differing on what they want most for the senior parent. 

These sessions will provide enlightening insights into the underlying fears and concerns of older adults and their adult children and valuable communication tools to lessen the resistance between the generations. Additionally, attendees will discover ways to encourage the entire family to work together.

 An advocate for older adults, Buchanan is an internationally recognized author and speaker on issues of aging, faithfully drawing from her own experience as a caregiver for her own aging parent. She is the author of 11 books. Her most recent book, “Feeling Your Way Through Grief” has reached much critical acclaim for giving readers a safe place to explore their deepest emotions. Her other books include “Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body,” “Talking with God in Old Age” and “Don’t Write My Obituary Just Yet.”