Originally posted on September 9, 2021 by Bel Canzo
If someone asked me what I think about the difference between my culture and America’s culture at this moment, I would probably cry.
In Brazil, my country, we usually take care of our parents when they are not able to take care of themselves anymore. I wrote about this before, but today I’m honestly struggling with the subject and you might wonder why.
I’m not going to talk about it because I believe this is a very private subject and let me just say that someone dear to me have decided to go that route and I’m a little sad about it and I wish I didn’t have these feelings. Perhaps I’m being selfish… I just can’t believe an elderly have to struggle to have to make a decision like this if they wish they could stay in their own home. Again, perhaps they don’t feel this way and it might be just me.
I agree that having the parents on a retirement community can be very easy for the family, especially if they have a family on their own, but are the elder really happy in those places? Would they tell their kids if they weren’t?
I guess I’ll never know the real answer to those questions… unless I lived in those places myself. And even then, it would probably be all about my own experience. We all see things differently, feel things differently, so it’s all about self.
Let’s talk. Let me know in the comments what’s your thoughts on this.
Thank you for reading.
Isabel Canzoneri
Shana Hannibal 