When Adult Children Disagree, How Eye Checkups May Lower Dementia Risk, and Self-Funding Long-Term Care

You're receiving this because you signed up on our website. Want to unsubscribe? Just reply to this email with the words “no thanks.”

First-time reader? Join 23,914 other seniors for free.

Fiction: Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney – A woman trapped in a coma can hear everything around her but cannot move or speak, leaving her to unravel the disturbing truth about what happened to her.

History (Non-Fiction): The Korean War by Max Hastings – This gripping history examines the brutal conflict between North and South Korea, revealing the military decisions, political tensions, and human suffering that shaped the war.

Memoir: What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo – This deeply personal memoir explores the lasting effects of childhood abuse and complex PTSD, following a journey through trauma, therapy, and the difficult process of healing.

Self-Help: The Art of Showing Up by Rachel Wilkerson Miller – This practical guide offers thoughtful strategies for strengthening friendships, supporting loved ones, setting boundaries, and being more present for yourself and others.

Romance: Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer – A lonely widow in rural Georgia offers a home to a drifter with a troubled past, and their marriage of convenience gradually blossoms into love against the backdrop of World War II.

No matter where you are in the process—an idea, an outline, a rough draft, or an almost-finished manuscript—we can help you get your book across the finish line.

ProofreadingServices.com and MemoirGhostwriting.com (both run by us) offer developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, proofreading, formatting, interior and cover design, ebook formatting, and publishing and marketing support.

Not sure what you need? Get a FREE publishing consultation here. We’ll hop on a call, look at where you are, and help you figure out the best path to a finished book.

Check a few boxes, and we’ll match you with trusted options and initial consultations—many completely free—across insurance, housing, travel, finances, and more. It takes about five minutes, and you’re not committing to anything—just seeing what can save you time and energy.

When your adult children disagree, it can be surprisingly difficult to know what role to play.

You may understand both sides. You may strongly agree with one person. Or you may simply wish everyone would work it out and get along again.

Regardless of where you stand, the situation can prove difficult to navigate. The instinct to step in can be powerful. But once children are adults, their relationships with each other belong largely to them—and sometimes the most helpful thing a parent can do is resist becoming the referee.

If one person calls to talk about a disagreement, listening doesn't mean you have to take a side.

Neither do simple acknowledgements of the emotions involved. You might say, "I can understand why you're upset," without agreeing that the other person is wrong.

Be particularly cautious about your children trying to turn you into a messenger. While it may seem helpful to carry messages between sparring parties, even quick comments like "Your brother told me …" or "Your sister thinks …" can pull you directly into a conflict that the two of them need to address directly. What you might think is simply conveying what someone told you might be perceived as you endorsing the message.

That’s why direct communication is so vital. Once tempers have subsided, use neutral prompts like "Have you told her how you feel?" to encourage direct conversation.

A disagreement between two family members doesn't have to change your relationship with either one.

Continue calling, visiting, celebrating birthdays, and spending time together as you normally would. You don't need to withdraw from everyone involved just to show you aren’t loyal to one person over another.

You can care about both people even when they aren't getting along. And who knows—maybe that continued care is exactly what they need to see to remember how much they care about each other.

Staying neutral is a great approach for conventional sibling squabbles. But that doesn't mean ignoring genuinely harmful behavior.

If someone is being deliberately cruel or threatening to another  or acting disrespectfully in your home, you're entitled to set boundaries. You might say, "I understand that the two of you are upset, but I won't have you speaking to each other that way here."

In situations like this, it can be helpful to focus on the behavior itself as opposed to the underlying issues. Correcting behavior doesn’t equate to deciding who is right. You're setting expectations for behavior around you and between people.

Only once that behavior becomes civil can the problem at hand be addressed.

Family disagreements can create pressure to choose sides or step in to mediate. But adult children have their own histories, personalities, and relationships with each other.

You can offer perspective when it's requested, provide a listening ear, and make it clear that you care about everyone involved. But that doesn’t mean you have to solve the disagreement on their behalf.

We're looking for seniors who are embracing life with enthusiasm, purpose, and adventure. Whether you're traveling the world, starting a business, volunteering, pursuing a passion, learning new skills, or simply making the most of every day, we'd love to hear your story.

Think that might be you?

Email [email protected] with a photo and a short bio. We may feature you in an upcoming edition of Seniors Magazine.

Today, notice something ordinary that would have seemed like science fiction when you were young.

The discount: Red Roof Inn

What it gives you: Offers senior room rates for guests age 59+ at participating properties

How to claim it: Select the senior rate when booking and present ID at check-in

“The First Thanksgiving at Our House”
From the life overview of Ellen R., 75, Louisville, Kentucky. Shared with permission.

The first Thanksgiving I hosted was in 1980. I was twenty-nine, newly married, and totally unprepared.

My parents, my in-laws, and both my own siblings and my husband’s siblings were coming.

I had planned the menu carefully: turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

What I hadn’t planned for was the turkey taking so much longer to cook than the recipe said it would.

By two o’clock, everyone was hungry.

By three, my father had started making jokes about ordering pizza.

By three-thirty, my mother quietly asked whether I wanted her to take over.

I answered with a firm no.

At four o’clock, the turkey was finally done. Very well done, in fact.

It was dry.

Extremely dry.

My husband carved it anyway. We ate everything else, including the pumpkin pie, which had cracked down the middle.

After dinner, my father leaned back in his chair and said, “Well, nobody died.”

My mother gave him a look.

He added, “Yet.”

Everyone laughed.

I hosted Thanksgiving for the next twenty-three years. In that time, the food improved. Even the turkey became something I could cook without checking the temperature every five minutes.

But I always remembered that first dinner.

My father was right: Nobody died.

It was a perfect Thanksgiving.

***

Want to preserve for future generations the stories, experiences, and wisdom that have shaped your life?
Have Your Life Overview Written

The New Yorker – Cartoon Caption Contest
Think you can come up with a clever caption for a cartoon? Each week, The New Yorker presents a captionless illustration and invites readers to submit their funniest interpretation. You can also browse past winners and vote on finalists, making it an entertaining exercise in humor and creative thinking.

Bored Button
Press the big red button and see where the internet takes you. Each click opens a different interactive diversion, from quick puzzles and amusing experiments to unusual little games you might never have discovered otherwise. It's an easy way to turn a few spare minutes into something unexpected.

Fake Apple security alert scam targets local couple

This daily section is brought to you by MemoirGhostwriting.com, experts in capturing life stories for loved ones and/or the public.

Take a few minutes to jot down your thoughts. Even a few sentences are a memory preserved for loved ones. Some people begin by writing on their own—or even using AI tools—but many eventually decide they’d rather simply talk and have their story shaped into something lasting. That’s where we come in.

Do you want to ensure your story, values, and family history aren't lost?

A single sheet of paper can become a graceful crane, a delicate flower, a decorative box, or even a miniature animal. That's the appeal of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding: you can create something surprisingly intricate with very few materials.

Origami is inexpensive, portable, and endlessly adaptable. You can learn a simple design in minutes or spend an afternoon mastering a more elaborate creation.

You don't need special equipment to begin. Ordinary paper works for many projects, although square origami paper makes following instructions easier.

Start with straightforward designs such as a paper boat, butterfly, or traditional crane. These introduce common folding techniques you'll encounter in more advanced projects.

OrigamiUSA's collection of folding diagrams offers free instructions for a variety of designs, making it a useful place to explore your first projects.

Origami diagrams use arrows, dotted lines, and symbols to explain how paper should be folded. Two fundamental techniques are the valley fold, which folds paper toward you, and the mountain fold, which folds it away.

Once you recognize these symbols, written diagrams become much easier to follow.

For visual learners, Origami.me's beginner tutorials feature step-by-step photographs and instructions for simple projects.

As your skills develop, try folding with patterned paper, metallic sheets, or traditional Japanese washi paper.

Different papers create different effects. Thin paper is useful for designs with many folds, while heavier paper can work well for simple boxes and decorative shapes.

You can explore origami paper collections to find different colors, patterns, sizes, and textures.

Finished origami pieces can become greeting card decorations, bookmarks, gift toppers, holiday ornaments, or colorful mobiles.

Try folding several matching cranes to hang from a branch, making small paper boxes for gifts, or creating flowers that can be arranged in a vase.

If you'd like a longer-term challenge, learn about the tradition of folding 1,000 paper cranes, often associated with wishes for peace, hope, and good fortune.

The pleasure of origami is that there's always another fold to learn. And when a design doesn't turn out quite right, all you need to begin again is another sheet of paper.

You no longer need a cable box with a built-in recorder to save television programs for later. Several streaming services offer cloud DVR, which stores recordings online rather than on equipment in your home.

Live TV streaming services such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and DIRECTV STREAM offer cloud recording features.

Open the service's program guide, find the show you want, and look for an option such as Record, Add to Library, or a + symbol.

Depending on the service, you may be able to record an individual program or automatically save future episodes. Recordings are accessible through your account on compatible televisions, phones, tablets, and computers.

Cloud DVR features vary by provider. Some services limit how long recordings remain available, while others restrict which programs can be recorded or whether advertisements can be skipped.

Check whether DVR is included in your subscription or costs extra.

If you watch television using an antenna rather than a streaming subscription, certain devices, such as network-connected over-the-air DVRs, can record local broadcasts without a traditional cable box.

Before subscribing to anything new, check whether your existing TV service already includes recording capabilities.

Today: Seville, Spain

Seville is filled with ornate architecture, shaded plazas, gardens, flamenco, and lively neighborhood restaurants. It’s a city where taking your time is part of experiencing the local rhythm.

Ingrid’s Tip: During warmer months, follow the local pace: sightsee in the morning, rest during the hottest part of the afternoon, and head out again in the evening.

Unscramble the letters to find a famous person, event, or object. Think you know it? Reply with your answer and show off your brainpower.

Today’s clue: Soft foam ball made for safer indoor and outdoor play.

FREN LBAL

Help a life story get told, earn thousands: Refer someone to MemoirGhostwriting.com and earn 12% of what they spend, or a 16% donation to your favorite nonprofit. Find out more here.

Explore flexible sales opportunities: CommissionOnly.com gives you access to flexible part-time, work-from-home commission-only roles you can apply to. Find out more here.

Disclaimer: Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, Seniors Magazine may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The content of the newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as financial, legal, or health advice. We may also share polling responses with advertisers to help keep this newsletter free.