K.I.T. - Keeping In Touch
K.I.T. Keeping in Touch - Vol. IV
SUMMER! The Oldest Boomers turn 80!
By Kit Baumann, CSA® | Senior Living Advisor | Cedar Park & Austin, Texas
Boomers turn 80!
I was shocked when I saw the magazine cover with Cher while waiting in the grocery checkout line. She turned 80 this year — along with roughly 4 million of the oldest Baby Boomers, a birthday class that includes Dolly Parton, Steven Spielberg, and three U.S. presidents!
I'm at the tail end of that cohort, though I feel like I connect more with the younger generations — Gen X? Gen Z? I get lost in the alphabet soup. But the point is this: I am aging, and the Senior Tsunami we've talked about for twenty years in the senior living industry is officially here. Get to high ground!
As a Certified Senior Advisor, I have the privilege of walking with "seasoned adults" in many ways — helping them decide when it's right to sell their home and move to a senior living community; assisting them in finding a good, qualified private-duty caregiver; or simply listening as they discern: Should I move? Should I stay? Should I remodel? "Who will take my china?" they ask with a sigh. The truth is — no one.
I'm a visual person, so I like to describe our window of opportunity this way: an open window that slowly closes as we age. I firmly believe we need to grab the opening while we can still walk and move well — and while we can still make our own choices.
So here are three concrete steps to take while you figure out where your higher ground will be:
1. Update your Will — and your POAs. When was the last time you looked at yours? Seriously. I’ve reminded you before! Examine who your executor will be. Who is your medical POA? Your financial POA? And dear Lord, don't give two of your four children the POA together — assisting a parent in crisis is not something to delegate by committee. Sit down with your children, tell them who will be in charge. Give typed or handwritten copies to all of them while you have them at the table. No hurt feelings. No favoritism. Let them know you want no fighting at the end of your life, and that after you're gone, you want them to still love each other. For heaven's sake, don't let them fall out over a Limoges teacup or a Steuben ashtray no one will ever use.
2. Get help with the downsizing. Contact a professional — NASMM (the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers) has a list of providers in your area who can walk you through the process. Don't ask your kids to do it. And please don't leave them a mess to clean up once you're gone. Think about the grief they'll be feeling, only to then have to sort through your worldly possessions in a state of sadness. No bueno!
3. Call in a guide. Reach out to a Certified Senior Advisor through the Society of Certified Senior Advisors, or a member of the National Placement and Referral Alliance (pick me! pick me!), and let us help you look at your options. Senior living communities are not nursing homes — we don't even use that term anymore. There are independent living communities; communities offering independent living, assisted living, and memory care under one roof; and communities focused on assisted living and memory care. Some business models require a large buy-in — those are known as Life Plan or CCRC communities. Most these days, however, are rental models offering a continuum of care: you start in independent living and transition to assisted living or memory care as your needs change.
As I love to tell my 27-year-old son, who is on his own young life path — as corny as it sounds — "Every journey starts with that first step." The truth is, we aren't here forever. What's that expression about death and taxes? Yeah. You are going to die one day. Some of us leave early, and some are blessed with a lovely, beautiful, long, long life. But while you're able: don't procrastinate. Start planning. The best gift you can give your children is a road map to follow for the day when you are no longer here.
And yes — the road map can say who gets the China.
Kit Baumann is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA®) and the founder of Senior Living Kit, LLC — a boutique senior living placement and advisory firm serving families in Austin, Cedar Park, and across Texas, as well as families nationwide navigating senior living decisions from a distance. Kit is also a proud member of National Placement and Referral Alliance. Learn more at seniorlivingkit.com.
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