We don’t like to talk about aging,our own or our parents’. And yet, as parents age and children become parents to their parents, every family reaches the point at which decisions about independence and care must be made. When families arrive at this point without ever having talked together about one another’s wishes and concerns, these decisions become difficult.
Join us at this half-day workshop which is designed to bring together those in the second half of life with those facing their parents’ aging and future care needs.
On Saturday, March 2, the event will run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, 14115 Hillcrest Road, Dallas, TX 75254 and includes a keynote address from author and speaker Suzanne Asaff Blankenship.
Additionally, workshops will be offered in two sessions on the following topics: Caregiver Bootcamp; Legal & Financial Planning; Challenging Conversations: How to Discuss and Plan for End of Life; and Medicine Matters: Caring for the Aging Body. The cost of the event is $15 and includes lunch. This event is co-sponsored by 2nd Half and iParentX ministries.
Are you a member of the “sandwich generation”? If so, you may have wondered –
• What resources are available for my aging parents?
• How do I have a conversation about giving up the car keys or the house?
• What if I can’t face the idea that my parents will die?
• (If you have children of your own) how do I balance my parents’ needs with my children’s and still have time for myself?
• How do I help my parents understand what it’s like to be caught in the middle?
Are you an older adult? If so, you may have wondered – What resources are available for me as I age and my needs change?
• Do I need a living will?
• When do I need power of attorney and who should I appoint?
• How do I have a conversation with my children about my end of life wishes?
• How do I help my children understand what it’s like to get old?
This workshop is open to adults of any generation: Those who are themselves aging and beginning to think about their final decades and those who have aging family members for whom they may be called upon to act and advocate. The program will equip participants of all ages with the courage, compassion, and awareness to generate meaningful and caring conversations about how and when important decisions will be made and implemented.
Important note: The website and flyer below list an online registration, which is not active. There is plenty of room! To register, call Rev. Rebecca Tankersley at 972.233.1898 x 242.
Visit the website here: http://www.transfiguration.net/event/common-ground/ and read the flyer here:
http://www.transfiguration.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Common-Ground-Facing-Aging-Together-Half-Day-Flyer_FINAL.pdf
Keynote Speaker:
Suzanne Asaff Blankenship has two decades of experience managing her mother’s care as well as sharing the care for her in-laws. After years of sharing stories and receiving requests for advice, Suzanne found she wasn’t alone in her eldercare journey, or in her search for solutions. With her unique approach of organized preparation sprinkled with her tongue-in-cheek humor, Suzanne guides others skillfully through the challenging experience of eldercare.
Suzanne has spent her 20-year corporate career in marketing and customer service, leading and training teams at The Coca-Cola Company, Bueno Foods, and Ogilvy & Mather as well as her own consulting firm, Parkin & Blankenship.
Determined to improve the experience for her elderly parent and in-laws, Suzanne developed tools, identified resources, and put together organized plans as each different eldercare scenario developed. The author of How to Take Care of Old People Without Losing Your Marbles, she shares those tools with her audience to help guide them more easily in their own journey. From Texas originally, Suzanne now calls Colorado home. She believes in advocacy, the importance of family, and the need for balance in life. Humor is her favorite resource.