Everyone Around Me Is Getting Older, and I’m Worried About What Happens Next

What if I don’t have what it takes to be a caregiver for my aging loved ones?

Photo by Jeremy Wong on Unsplash

I just overheard a conversation between my two uncles, both over the age of sixty, as they discussed lawyers, wills, and all the decision-making that comes with growing old.

Of interest to me: my one uncle, my mother’s half-brother, seems to be under the impression that I will be the defacto caregiver as he enters his final years on this earth. We’ve never discussed this point-for-point, but he has no children and no other close relatives other than my aunt (my mother’s other half-sibling), who is also over the age of sixty. Of course it stands to reason that I will be the one he turns to when it comes to times of need in the future. I can easily imagine a future where I have to make big decisions as well as tackle small things like taking him to doctor’s appointments and picking up prescriptions at the nearby pharmacy. It’s to be expected, right?

Added on top of this is my worry over my father, nearing seventy, as I’m his only child. Though he has siblings and nephews, I’m guessing that — since he’s estranged from them — there won’t be any help coming from their end unless there’s monetary reward involved at some point. The likelihood…