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I had to make this personal decision recently. My father has Diabetes and Parkinson's Disease. My mother is a tiny woman with a weak heart and bones spurs on her spine. They are both in their eighties. They just could not live together alone any longer. My father had been falling a lot due to his loss of balance and feeling in his feet and my mother just could not get him back up on her own.

My parents took care of my father's parents when they got older. Both of my grandparent's died of cancer at home. I still remember as a little girl sitting with my grandfather while he was laying in his hospital bed that had been set up in the living room watching his favorite show "Gunsmoke." It is one of my most cherished memories. My parents expected the same thing from their children. They did not want to go into a nursing home.

I have three sisters and three brothers. When it was time to make the decision on what would be the best thing for my parents to do at this turning point in their life, all of my siblings agreed that what they really wanted was to live with one of us but none were willing to have them. Let me explain, my father is not the nicest person to live with. He is very negative, does not appreciate anything and always expects more. When he wants something done he wants it done now and will not accept anything less. My mother is a saint who appreciates everything and truly tries to do everything herself.

I discussed it with my family and all were in agreement that it was something that we had to try and do. It took a lot of change and compromise on their part. I have five children and my husband. We had to move everyone around and they had to share rooms and their personal space was definitely reduced. Also, our biggest problem was that we only have one bathroom and we really had to work a schedule out there.

So far, my parents have lived with us for a little over five months. There have been some trying times but everything is starting to calm down and we are all getting into a routine. I also love the fact that my two boys who are five and eight now have the opportunity to spend time with their grandparents. Every night at 7:00 p.m. they go into the living room and get into the big recliner with their grandmother and watch her favorite game show "Wheel of Fortune" together. It will be a nice memory for them.

I know the day will come when I will not be able to medically take care of my parents. Hopefully, I will be in a position where I can have a nurse come in and help. If not, I will probably have to help them into a nursing home. But right now, this is what is best for them and for us.

Learn more about this author, Amy Denney.
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