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Hiii Big hugs to you! Thanks for the encouraging words! I say yes to reclaiming my life again and prioritizing my time in search of a good, decent, healthy, capable, loving husband! Amen to that!
 ...Read More

Hiii Big hugs to you! Thanks for the encouraging words! I say yes to reclaiming my life again and prioritizing my time in search of a good, decent, healthy, capable, loving husband! Amen to that!

"Welcome to all MH big hugs and gentle pats for you,19 years is a long time.. Mr. Right is out there, he just hasn't gotten brave enough yet to show himself.. "

thanks for your encouraging words! and here's a hug for you. Yes, I knew too long that adage "life never tarries backwards" but I need to read it again to be able to realize I've been postponing my ha ...Read More

thanks for your encouraging words! and here's a hug for you. Yes, I knew too long that adage "life never tarries backwards" but I need to read it again to be able to realize I've been postponing my happiness for so long just because I'm in the 19th year of caregiving! What a way to celebrate a task I've been doing for 19 yrs. Yes I will look & pray for that man. He has to have a job though, hahaha Cuz I don't want another mouth to feed, excuse me!!!! :-) Thanks mwaahh!~ hugs to you.

Hi there.. thanks for your comment about Caregiver How Are You Today? Yes I'm into my 19th year of caregiving to my mom. This is my present circumstances and not necessarily that I like this position, ...Read More

Hi there.. thanks for your comment about Caregiver How Are You Today? Yes I'm into my 19th year of caregiving to my mom. This is my present circumstances and not necessarily that I like this position, it's just that I have to catch and accept this as I'm an only child. I've put brakes on all sorts of medicine, vitamins, doctor's visits, even Ensure milk none of these. Lo and behold! Mom has survived all these years. I need to put brakes on such expenses as I can't simply afford it. There's no money for that. Her social security pension in the Philippines amounts to just about $51 or $52 in Philippine pesos. Here, to give quality caregiving complete with all the meds, doctor's visits, food, drinks and companionship plus 24 hours caregiver assigned to her, her pension should be at least $500-700/month. Try that against $51 & u will see the clear deficit. Simply no funds for her. She eats what me & my daughter eats. Drinks whatever we drinks. She's as thin as a Holocaust victim and she's cruising towards her 20th year of senility, vascular dementia, Alzheimer's next year. It's been a difficult years since she suddenly deteriorated with her first major accident in 2002 and then again in 2009 and in between 2002 until now, falls and sudden dizziness that gets more frequent each day... she has vertigo and I've known this long time ago.

Anyway, I keep her at home & keep an eye on her. I teach online English to kids in Korea. I hope to expand clientele to China so to earn more & stabilize income when it's off-peak in Korea and income is low... how low? Like this January 2012 we barely survived here with $280 translated in dollars from Philippine pesos. Normally I should have at least $450 to be able to afford regular runs of movies with my daughter on weekends or that occasional manicure pedicure and I need hair cut and color right now. I do my own hair coloring to save. And even do my own manicure & pedicure when I have the time. To be honest, with the cost of things all going up, to be able to survive here with the same convenience I used to have when my mom was still working & I was fresh from college, I should be earning at least $1,000/month. But this is just hard to realize especially that I do all the things at home, I get breaks only when I rant & vent online here on AC.

I can't even rant on my Facebook becuz my folks/relatives will backbite me or send me an email to count my blessings instead of complaining. They didn't realize that it's so hard to be an only child, a single solo parent with no support whatsover from my ex-boyfriend who is a Filipino and has got no balls!, and also the only breadwinner in my family... we're all females here -- mom, my daughter & me. The only males are my male cats & rooster which we got fond of & never turned into a roasted chicken. This chicken is my daughter's favorite chick when it was still small. Now it is 3 years and 2 months old... LOL:-) Very intelligent bird actually. He's like a dog very good at guarding the house...

OK I'd better send this now. Thanks so much and yes... my mom is taking the full course of Alzheimer's. It's at AC that I read sometimes it can last 20 years... So here I am an example of that caregiving that stretches a span of 2 decades.

You can't blame me if I just want to put all the brakes that keeps her artificially strong... meds, vitamins, milk, doctors's therapy... especially if I paid a huge price for it by choosing to stay home-bound rather than work outside like in Metro Manila. After all, these artificial prolonging isn't cheap! Her pension is not even enough to pay me if I charge her for the caregiving services I give her. Anyway, she's my mom. She wasn't close to me when I was in elementary and high school years. She sent me back to the province. She had the best in life, economy then was good, and the best is that she is assured of social pension until her last day on this planet. But me & my daughter are left wondering in limbo if my own social pension fund run by my incompetent corrupt government will even last beyond 2030!!!! I'd be retiring by that age!...

OK thanks dear hugs & kisses & thanks for your wonderful encouraging words. I will surely not postpone anymore my search for Mr. Alright (they say there's no such thing as Mr. Right) just alright enough to be human, loving, useful husband. And yes I will make sure he has a job! I don't want to end up shouldering him. I got so traumatized already with the 2 decades I got from my mom. He has to have a job and capable of supporting a family. I don't mean to be a gold digger, I just want someone who helps me along and not be another burden.

Bye take care... back to AC now for more encouraging reads from fellow who are like me needing consolation and time out from the toll of caregiving:-) Mwaah!~ Marissa

emjo and franny ~ thanks so much for the wow (words of wisdom). I got it... I don't have to wait & postpone. Know what, been actively chatting with few men who found me on Craigslist. 2 weeks worth of ...Read More

emjo and franny ~ thanks so much for the wow (words of wisdom). I got it... I don't have to wait & postpone. Know what, been actively chatting with few men who found me on Craigslist. 2 weeks worth of emails & the occasional 1 hour chats on yahoo messenger or google talk. I'm weeding out already and a handful remained I can count them in my 2 hands. I don't need too many anyway. Yes there are strange characters out there. I better heed your advice. I won't wait, but I will also have to be available for them, hopefully they will visit me here & see how it goes. Emjo thanks for the wonderful advice. See you around here. This website is very encouraging to me. I feel good because I know I'm not alone. I got tons of dirty dishes to wash & laundry to finish LOL:-)

The Caregiver....How are YOU doing today? --- I feel darn so and so.. same old same old! Groundhog Day is what comes to my mind. No not that I'm living in a winter country. On the contrary it's so swe ...Read More

The Caregiver....How are YOU doing today? --- I feel darn so and so.. same old same old! Groundhog Day is what comes to my mind. No not that I'm living in a winter country. On the contrary it's so sweltering hot here in the Philippines. How AM I doing today? Just happy I got you fellow caregivers here online I don't feel so alone and I feel welcome. I feel we women must uplift the moods of one another. I am in the middle of my soul-searching trying to discern should I seriously look for the love of my life, to follow my heart and to say "I do" when I find him.... easier said than done. When a guy comes here to visit me, that's when the real challenge begins. I don't hide them my circumstances. I just hope they will truly understand that I'm not postponing anymore this part of my life wanting to find a mate, because I've postponed far too long already because I thought I'd let mom finish her business first, before I start seriously looking for that man! But I got my epiphany that life don't tarry backwards. I'd better search while I'm still a bit young & healthy. I don't wanna pass the chance. And I'm not getting any younger, and my daughter would benefit from having a balanced perspective of having a "dad" to call her own. Anyway good luck to me! Today is a "me" day so I love the chance to share my thoughts & feelings here. Tomorrow it will be another work week teaching online, and it will be another day for my mom and me at home together, while my daughter goes to elementary school. And few more men to chat online, hoping one of them is the Mr. Alright. Cheers everyone! I wanna watch the recommended movies "Groundhog Day" and "How to Train Your Dragon." I've finished Friends with Benefit and Bad Teacher already. These 2 gave me some funny moments to laugh cheaply while staying at home over this weekend. Perhaps this week I go out a bit for an ice cream sundae at McDonald's... cheap simple way to get back my balanced footing.. 19 years of caregiving is darn too long! I give myself a pat in the back.. will u guys give me more please? LOL hugs & kisses everyone

12 years of childcaring, single solo mom here. 19 years of caring for my mom with Alzheimer's Vascular Dementia. She's 80, I'm 40, my daughter 12. I'm an only child, lost job in June 2012, struggling ...Read More

12 years of childcaring, single solo mom here. 19 years of caring for my mom with Alzheimer's Vascular Dementia. She's 80, I'm 40, my daughter 12. I'm an only child, lost job in June 2012, struggling to make ends meet. I don't live in USA so I don't get those benefits mentioned on this website. Let's just be frank that I hope to find a mate to help balance things out especially with regards to finances & share of mundane chores in life. Plus it's nice to get a helping hand which having a healthy husband could give me, and nice for my daughter to have a dad to call her own.

Hi there fellow caregiver. Sometime in 2010 you wrote this in reaction to the post that you wish your mom would just die. Did she pass away? I asked this because my mom is also in same situation, Vasc ...Read More

Hi there fellow caregiver. Sometime in 2010 you wrote this in reaction to the post that you wish your mom would just die. Did she pass away? I asked this because my mom is also in same situation, Vascular Dementia and Lewy Bodies). And it's been the same difficult caregiving duties that u and I share. I also have the same guilt trips being an only child and have been struggling with this situation for 19 years already. I too just want my mom dead. This morning, I knelt down and prayed for God to grant her rest. But I thanked God for the decades thayt He used my mom to touch the lives of many of her students in elementary and high school. She was a teacher during most of her stronger years. Let me know please. Sending you my hugs & prayers. I hope your mom & u are feeling much better now, wherever the two of you maybe. God bless us all caregivers --- "Mom is so far gone (vascular dementia and Lewy Bodies) that she is nothing like the mother I knew. I know if she could see what she's become she would not want to live like this, but every time I think of putting her in a nursing home, I feel like I've failed her. No matter how much we feed her she keeps losing weight, and now looks like a Holocost survivor-has no concept of who my sister and I are-and talks constantly to her invisible people. After working all day and taking care of mom all evening-I'm finding myself saying "why can't she just go to sleep?" The guilt never ends."

Hi dreamweaver... my hugs & prayers to you. i can almost cry. i understand u. u just want a little help, so that u can go back to work while some body keeps an eye on your mom, without costing u an ar ...Read More

Hi dreamweaver... my hugs & prayers to you. i can almost cry. i understand u. u just want a little help, so that u can go back to work while some body keeps an eye on your mom, without costing u an arm & a leg. I've chosen to stay at home and it took financial toll. my insurance, health care, social security pension all stopped for close to 20 months now. i lost my job. i was invited again few weeks ago to go back to work after a week of indecision and a lot of thinking & weighing things up, i declined the job offer. i'm not in the usa. i'm here in the philippines. i get by thru miracle. you're not alone. i am bankrupt myself. you're not alone in this situation being sandwiched whether to go back to work, worrying about your mom, and finding that it's very expensive to maintain a maid for her all the time. it's the same here. and i'm an only child and a single, solo parent. that is like 10000% times more disadvantageous. i go crazy if i don't have this website. it helps me to understand myself why i vent & rant and they say it's only a normal human reaction to something beyond what we can take. my prayers & hugs to you my fellow caregiver

Oh the ups & downs of caregiving... the laundry!!! the stink in the house! i just want to remind myself of the happy moments, not this mess!

hi there... morning from the Philippines! yes i've been taking care of my mom for 19 yrs already. her alzheimer's is taking it's full course even longer maybe. i read on this sometimes it lasts 20 yea ...Read More

hi there... morning from the Philippines! yes i've been taking care of my mom for 19 yrs already. her alzheimer's is taking it's full course even longer maybe. i read on this sometimes it lasts 20 years. i even got a message from one of the caregivers here her grandmother even lasted with the disease for 30 years!!!! they didn't know then. but it seems her grandmother already manifested the disease when she was around 30 yrs old but of course technology then wasn't as a bit accurate in predicting alzheimer's than it is now.

cheer up! you're not alone. I'm so eager to be set free from my caregiving duties hopefully this year or next and then my daughter & i hope to travel within my country and maybe somewhere in asia-pacific once i get back my financial footing & gain income hopefully a job is still waiting i'd be 41 this year and well-paying job is very tough to find.

and also i pray to god that he helps me match with a good decent & employed man who can be a good partner in life.these days the men are also having very rough economic times. I know it well.. but still i hope to find one soon.

we both come to a good website. it's nice to rant & vent here. just want to cheer you up, i'm gonna have my cup of coffee now this saturday morning. my mom just slept now. she's almost always awake all night long!

take care --- marissa

Hi Thanks for your message. I'm sending my cats to you to give u hugs & purrr... I love cats. I got 5 in my house. I used to have a golden retriever but dead already. I still miss my dog. So we're bot ...Read More

Hi Thanks for your message. I'm sending my cats to you to give u hugs & purrr... I love cats. I got 5 in my house. I used to have a golden retriever but dead already. I still miss my dog. So we're both in the thick of caregiving. I'm into my 19th year this 2012 & seems like end is nowehere in sight. I read what u said that your great grandmother has alz in her 30s but didn't know way back then, and died around 60 or 70 yrs old! Wow that's long! really long years of battling the disease. Yeah i imagine & Understand. In the provinces I know some ladies (usually the ladies/female specie!) far outlived their men and are the ones very prone to ending up with alz when they hit 60 70 80 90 or 100.

it's not easy. I feel imprisoned. I hope that my efforts with god's blessings will help me find a good match in life. it's very hard to be a single parent only child sandwiched between 2 generations. i've stopped all medications to my mom & now on my 3rd week again with no diapers for her. we just improvised a large basin under her bed to catch her urine during early mornings when she can't manage to go to the toilet. needless to say my house stinks!!!

ok have to send this now to you cuz it's lunch time here. i'm gonna get going, eat, clean some more & maybe nap for few minutes this afternoon. take care and always pray for strength, patience & guidance.

Hi golfbhard! First, you're not alone. Judging the response on this thread, we're many in the same boat. I enjoyed reading the thread and can't help but agree with all the sarcasm, anger, rant, vent a ...Read More

Hi golfbhard! First, you're not alone. Judging the response on this thread, we're many in the same boat. I enjoyed reading the thread and can't help but agree with all the sarcasm, anger, rant, vent and many inspiring words, ideas for self-therapy to keep you level-headed & balanced. It's never easy this caregiving duties. I'm into my 19 years of caregiving for my mom. I'm an only child.And I'm also a single parent, so yes I'm sandwiched between 2 generations. I declared to myself that God didn't ordain for a family to be headed by one only. And that's me. So I prayed very hard and I'm taking charge of my love life and hopeful that one day I meet a man who will be the right one. He's not Mr. Right, he can be Mr. Alright. I've seen the toll it took on my mom when she remained a single parent all her life. It seemed she missed on live's many opportunities. So then, I don't want to miss the chance to get married, to say my "I do" so this year even though I'm stuck to my caregiving duties, I'm trying my best to find love outside of the 4 walls of my house. It's never easy as most parents are never friendly towards a lover/potential husband. They immediately think their daughter will be stolen from them & in case of my mom so dead scared she'll be left all alone. I feel like I've been imprisoned by my circumstances for so long now, it's time to break free. Thanks to this site, I feel less guilty when I look for my own needs and take care of myself. As my ex-officemate declared her mantra in life, I will imitate her, and declare that mantra too . Do u wanna know what it is? It's a very simple --- "I love myself." Take care of yourself, cuz no one will take care of it for you. Love & smiles to you & to my fellow caregivers!

how's it going? Happy weekend everyone..

Hi tennessee how are u?

Thanks for the hug of two lizards/geckos :-) Appreciate that. I'm taking time off from caregiving though even though I'm right here in my own house & i can see mom ...Read More

Hi tennessee how are u?

Thanks for the hug of two lizards/geckos :-) Appreciate that. I'm taking time off from caregiving though even though I'm right here in my own house & i can see mom & my daughter sleeping.

Just having a good time watching chipmunks movie. Helps me to feel young again and be positive. it's my own way to de-stress without costing an arm & a leg.

OK, sending u warm, encouraging, empowering thoughts. I've to reply to the few messages that have piled up over the week.

Take care my fellow caregiver. -- Marissa

Enjoying chipmunks movie on a friday night after teaching online:-) nice way to de-stress. how's everyone doing?

Hi Karen & everyone on this thread -- I asked myself many times precisely what stage is my mom's Alzheimer's. Research on Google says she could be somewhere Stage 5 or 6. I looked for signs & sympto ...Read More

Hi Karen & everyone on this thread -- I asked myself many times precisely what stage is my mom's Alzheimer's. Research on Google says she could be somewhere Stage 5 or 6. I looked for signs & symptoms. She's showing some signs on Stage 4. Let's just say that after 19 years of caring I want to fastforward it to Stage 7 if I can do it right now. Mom had a bad fall again while I'm in the middle of my tutoring an elementary student. Even me at home already, there's no guarantee I can stop her from suddenly falling. Reason: her world spinned round & round. Vertigo. Anyway, all the good advice here at worth the time we spend on. Now as early as today, we try to expand our world, cultivate friends and hobbies, learn new things, even if we can't be too far away skiing on top of the Alps or snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. We can expand our world even though were only few steps away from the old brats we take care. This website is one of them. It's very useful for me when I need to vent. And also knowing that many are in the same boat, and as one mentioned here, the road is getting crowded. Karen, you're not alone. Take deep breaths.. Oh another student told me to hum a song, sing a song to divert bad emotions and to deflect my mom's negative words. In that way I won't be hearing most of her negative comments. U may wanna try singing a song.. Sing loudly so that u only hear your own music :-) Give it a try!

Who whoa whoa!!! slow down dear fellow caregiver. I'm an only child too. And I am sandwiched between my mom & my daughter. My mom has also Alzheimer's. egw07305 is very right. To keep your sanity, don ...Read More

Who whoa whoa!!! slow down dear fellow caregiver. I'm an only child too. And I am sandwiched between my mom & my daughter. My mom has also Alzheimer's. egw07305 is very right. To keep your sanity, don't argue with your mom. Don't correct her every mistake. Unless the mistake is a matter of life or death, just let it be. Let her be in her own small world that existed in her memory long long time ago which you will never be able to visit as it happened perhaps even before u came into this world. So don't correct her, just say nice words, agree with her, proceed with whatever you're doing for her. Save whatever amount of energy & sanity you have. You will need it. Remember, you're not alone. I'm an only child just like you. I'm in my 40s now. It's alright to rant & vent. You come to a good website perfect for your emotional overload! Many of us here are on the brink of either killing ourselves or killing/shortening the lifespan of the ones we care about. My mom's Alz case is perhaps even longer than yours. She's almost 19 years in this degenerative disease and according to her she still wants to see my daughter graduate from the university! Ha-ha-ha ho - ho -ho boy oh boy that means another 8-10 years of waiting for the grim reaper to take her away! Smile.. I wanna add some silliness to our thankless situation. Hugs & kisses my fellow only child-caregiver.

late christmas greetings & happy new year to you. very sorry to hear your mom passed away at new year's eve!!! i don't know what to say. and it was your son's 19 bday. hmmm my condolences. how are y ...Read More

late christmas greetings & happy new year to you. very sorry to hear your mom passed away at new year's eve!!! i don't know what to say. and it was your son's 19 bday. hmmm my condolences. how are you today? hope things are well with you & family. sorry it took a while to reply. been busy with mundane things as u know i'm very hands on to my own unending family chores, caregiving to my 80 yrs old mom with alz. she might be on either stage 5 or 6 of her alz. she's endured a very long care of alz. almost into her 19th years now. i only realize when she was diagnosed very well last march 2009 & we made records together with the help of a doctor on her neuro-cognitive status. it seemed no wonder when she hit 55 years old she seemed to be almost always having a fight with her co-teachers at the school where she used to work. at age 65 it was already full blown when i was at that time in korea & in dubai working overseas. she had several accidents, bad falls since then. but it is her declining mental capacity to think logically even spatially that showed her brain deterioration. only now that there's google i can research tons of data & anecdotal evidences that i learned that alz has hit her way back in the 1980s. so there she's one case of an alz patient that will most likely outlive the 20 year-span that is often mentioned on this website when some members ask precisely how long can they expect their alz parents to survive. i'd tell them it can be longer than 20 years old. the way i see mom with her determination to live, she might even reach a 30 year span. ouch!!! that's ouch for me as I postponed my life for her. does that mean i don't look for husband or employment and wait for her to enter the coffin & bid bye bye??? hahaha... i go crazy! i am going nuts! have a nice day my friend. oh thanks too for the prayers. i see your in law was a lady from the philippines. i think we're naturally loving & caring ladies here. it must be in the culture & in our genes. i'm glad that she has won your hearts. i'm almost a mail order bride too for american or european men but they all stopped when they learned i'm too busy with my own caregiving dilemma & they say i don't have lots of time for them. they don't mind my being a single parent, they find me too busy with my own situation, they think i can't give them quality time. it's also hard these days to find men who would be interested in real relationships and not just sex alone or one-night stand. at my age of 40, i want a real, lasting, meaningful relationship. somethings which i can't seem to have time to think & sit down very well right now. bye for now thanks heaps! take care. one more question... are you still taking care of an elderly parent/relative or no more? what do you do with your free time?

Its' 2012 already, my boss is back in office and my officemates are asking if i'm returning to work or not? choose: work or caregiving?

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO MY FELLOW CAREGIVERS. LET'S KEEP OUR FINGERS CROSSED AS WE JOURNEY THRough 2012...

Thanks for your reply. new year went well, had great time with neighbors sharing food, sweets & red wine. and watched fireworks in my neighborhood. now mom & daughter woke up late it's almost lunch ti ...Read More

Thanks for your reply. new year went well, had great time with neighbors sharing food, sweets & red wine. and watched fireworks in my neighborhood. now mom & daughter woke up late it's almost lunch time. the fireworks display noticeably shorten compared to 10 years ago. thanks for your message. i saw your email address a while back but i guess u deleted it for security purposes. i was engrossed with the fun & noise-making, i slept 2:00am and opened my pc just now. i truly appreciate whatever help comes my way. i just try to count my blessing but am only too human to also worry about my own future & as i age (i'd be 41 this 2012) i also think if i ever find a job that can sustain me & my daughter & my mom. as i said her alzheimer's journey is close to 2 decades already. the cost of caring for her is staggering! sometimes i feel it's even more expensive now than when she sent me to public elementary school, public high school and public state/government university. would love to hear from you again. take care now, hope all's well with you.

Hi there.. happy new year too. How's celebration? Here in my house, in the Philippines, it went well. But noticeably the fireworks lasted shorter compared to 10 years ago when it people could afford t ...Read More

Hi there.. happy new year too. How's celebration? Here in my house, in the Philippines, it went well. But noticeably the fireworks lasted shorter compared to 10 years ago when it people could afford to burn their money for more than 30 mins of fireworks display. it's about 15 mins or even less today. Hope things are ok with you. Mom still here, i'm still into my 19th year of caregiving for mom with alzheimer's. All's well no health issues. i pray 2012 will be kinder & better for me personally as it's very hard to endure frequent bouts of money uncertainty and unemployment. my daughter doing well she will be high school this june 2012. take care & let me know how you're doing. thanks & happy new year to u & yours!

Hello again.. who is sir? he/she dead? i bet he/she is one of your pets. i too have pets to keep me happy & relaxed at home. mom loves cat, me too, & my daughter too. we lost in 2007 our golden retrie ...Read More

Hello again.. who is sir? he/she dead? i bet he/she is one of your pets. i too have pets to keep me happy & relaxed at home. mom loves cat, me too, & my daughter too. we lost in 2007 our golden retriever albert. i still miss

Hi! happy holidays to you. oh your dad has alzheimer's too just like my mom. as liliput wrote here (she's one of us) the problem with this disease is not knowing when it will come to an end. it's a ve ...Read More

Hi! happy holidays to you. oh your dad has alzheimer's too just like my mom. as liliput wrote here (she's one of us) the problem with this disease is not knowing when it will come to an end. it's a very long debilitating disease, wears down not just the patient's quality of life & status of health, but more so the people caring for him. the cost is staggering it's often mentioned here. i don't know the solution. i just wanna give u a pat in the back for trying your best. good luck to us this 2012. take care of yourself always, don't feel guilty about doing that. we deserve it:-)

Happy new year to you! how's your caregiving duties? are u done with it? or is it just starting all over again with another member of the family needing u 24/7? whatever your situation is, give yours ...Read More

Happy new year to you! how's your caregiving duties? are u done with it? or is it just starting all over again with another member of the family needing u 24/7? whatever your situation is, give yourself a pat in the back for a job well done! happy new year my fellow caregiver. as for me, i'm still right smack in it for 19 years now. mom's alzheimer's progressing perhaps way beyond 2012, 2013.... 2014?? i don't know. god bless us all. i myself look to a nice ending to my own caregiving story and pray i still have by then sanity, health, love in my heart to share to my man, muster the strength to find him as it's tough to be a single parent, and employment available for me even though i'd be beyond 41 yrs old when the time comes mom bids this earth goodbye. hugs & kisses to all of us on this website. happy holidays my friend.