Gen Now | August

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C-VILLE’s Monthly Guide to Navigating Senior Living Options in Central Virginia

“JABA’s adult day care center has been a welcome resource for Mom— and me. The staff are professional and compassionate and demonstrate a warmth and concern for her as if she were their own loved one.

This allows me to have a day of respite knowing Mom is cared for, protected and loved, just like family.”

JABA’s Adult Care Centers

Jefferson Area Board for Aging jabacares.org

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Call today to schedule a visit.

Charlottesville (434) 817-5235 Louisa (540) 967-4435

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Personalized daytime care for adults with dementia or disabilities Engaging activities Caring, trained staff Nutritious lunch and snacks Affordable, with scholarships available

August 25 - 31, 2021 c-ville.com

Compassionate care for her.

Peace of mind for you.

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to resist and deny aging, or see it as something to combat (think of all the “anti-aging” promotions you see), seeing a parent who once taught you how to ride a bike or ski down a mountain having trouble negotiating the stairs or balancing their checkbook can trigger feelings of panic. After all, they were the caretakers, the providers, the decision-makers for so long and now those roles have been suddenly reversed. What’s more, there’s now no escaping the reality of aging and mortality.

“It scares us,” said Alan Castel, an investigator at UCLA’s Memory & Lifespan Cognition Lab, in USAToday. “We think, ‘That could be me one day. And in fact, if everything goes well, that will be me one day.’”

That fear appears to have inspired M. Night Shyamalan in the creation of his latest film, but as one movie reviewer reminds us, the film explores the other side of that fear.

“The closer the couple come to

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Caregiving can be stressful in obvious ways. More than half of adults in their 40s and 50s who have a parent over 65 are raising young children or still financially supporting a young adult child. One in 7 are financially supporting a child and an aging parent. About 30% say their parents need help caring for themselves, and that percentage is rising every year. Practically, the challenges that the physical and perhaps cognitive decline of older parents presents for adult caregivers is pretty straightforward. They’re going to need help, and you and your family need to come up with a plan to deal with that.

What many adult caregivers aren’t prepared for, however, are the less obvious and more emotionally confusing aspects of this shift in the parent-child dynamic.

Indeed, the movie director M. Night Shyamalan, 50, whose recent film “Old” has a couple and their children trapped on a tropical island

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Watching your parents age can be scary, confusing, but ultimately liberating

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Role Reversal:

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At Our Lady of Peace, the health and well-being of our residents remains—as always—our top priority.

Welcoming new residents!

Call today to learn more about the compassionate care, lovely apartments, wonderful amenities, and active, family-oriented lifestyle that makes our community one-of-a-kind.

What Residents Are Saying “Here I feel safe, loved, respected, and not alone.”

Barbara Allison, Our Lady of Peace Resident

Residential Living • Assisted Living Memory Care • Nursing Care

434-973-1155 our-lady-of-peace.com 751 Hillsdale Dr. | Charlottesville Coordinated Services Management, Inc. Professional Management of Retirement Communities Since 1981

small pet friendly

Adult caregivers can actually find themselves feeling complicated and uncomfortable emotions like fear, anger, anxiety, resentment, and frustration as they face the reality of their parents getting older. where the aging process is accelerated, has said the film was inspired, in part, by the shock of watching his parents getting older and seeing their roles with each other get reversed. The metaphor is apt, for as many children of aging parents will tell you, it sometimes feels like it happens all at once.

“Many people struggle as they witness age-related decline in their parents’ functioning,” said Laura Carstensen, a psychology professor at Stanford University and the director of its Center on Longevity, in a recent USAToday article. “Cultural scripts that greatly value agency and autonomy equate vulnerability with failure. Pushing that message to its extreme, we all fail at some point.”

As Carstensen and other psychologists point out, adult caregivers can actually find themselves feeling complicated and uncomfortable emotions like fear, anger, anxiety, resentment, and frustration as they face the reality of their parents getting older. In a society generally preoccupied with youth and inclined

their mortality, their largesse grows — as does their capacity for empathy and understanding,” writes reviewer Ellyn Lem for Next Avenue.

“That’s one of the things “Old” gets right about aging. International research showing greater happiness as many people age often suggests that adults are more content later in life. They let go of petty grievances and reprioritize what is important.”

Indeed, as it turns out, processing grief matters as much along the continuum of life as it does when someone is gone.

“The reality is that virtually all people will encounter physical problems as they age,” Carstensen said. “The issue is less about avoiding the inevitable and more about living satisfying lives with limitations. Accepting aging and mortality can be liberating.”

David McNair handles communications, media relations, and social media efforts for the Jefferson Area Board for Aging.

Charlottesville’s premium in-home care provider “We found Commonwise after struggling to find reliable care. We felt the difference immediately and they have provided a consistently high level of service ever since. Every caregiver has been delightful and professional.”

To learn more about Commonwise, call 434-202-8565 or visit commonwisecare.com

“I had been living in a home that was not safe or healthy for me or anyone else.

I don’t know where I would be living today if it weren’t for AHIP.”

Q&A

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With Rosewood Village RMA Supervisor Tiffany Campbell

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1. How did you first become interested in the senior care industry?

Helping care for my great-grandmother 2. What makes Rosewood Village different from other local senior living options?

The difference is our Guiding Principle called Caring with H.E.A.R.T.™, which guides us in what we do each and every day. H.E.A.R.T.™ represents our core values - Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Residents First, and Teamwork. Both residents and team are like one big family.

3. Favorite space inside Rosewood Village?

Dining room when I can see all of their sweet faces in one place.

4. Why is Central Virginia the best place for seniors to retire?

Beautiful views and great places to visit.

5. Favorite part of your job?

elderly neighbors are waiting for critical home repairs right now. Your support will keep them safe.

1 on 1 time with my residents.

Seniors Safe at Home helps local senior citizens

6. What should people know about working with seniors?

age in place by taking care of urgent repairs: leaking roofs, access ramps, plumbing and electrical issues, failed furnaces, and more.

Respect them. They have lived amazing lives with great stories to tell. They deserve all of the respect as if they were your own family.

Safe at Home

SPONSORS

Champion: Wells Fargo Benefactors: Pape and Company, Inc. and Home Instead Senior Care Supporters: Better Living, Inc.; Central Virginia Waterproofing; and Blue Ridge Termite and Pest Management

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Look for our next Gen Now section in September!

View our digital copies online at C-VILLE.COM

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AHIP + CAAR + BRHBA | AHIPVA.org

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August 25 - 31, 2021 c-ville.com

SENIORS

Safe at Home

—Seniors Safe at Home client

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August 25 - 31, 2021 c-ville.com

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ASSISTED LIVING AND MEMORY CARE

DISCOVERY CLUB SAVINGS ARE BACK! Call Toda,y To Learn More & Schedule Your Visit (434) 214-9729 Limited availability to the first IO apartments leased. Some restrictions may apply.

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HOLLYMEAD 2029 Lockwood Dr. I GREENBRIER 500 Greenbrier Dr. I Charlottesville, VA @ 6 Time GOLD Winner Assisted Living I 3 Time Gold Winner Memory Care www.RoseWoodVillage.com

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