Every parent says it: I don’t want to be a burden on my kids.
That
sentiment shows parents are beyond wonderful. Their kids have been a burden to
them for decades and yet the parents don’t want to get back at the buggers.
However,
if you really don’t want to burden your kids, think outside the usual box of
horrors---the one that involves nursing homes and you with the mental capacity
of a daffodil. Imagine instead what a burden it will be for your kids to have a
parent on the road who should not be driving. Think of the worries your
children will have---images of geezer you mashed up in a car crash.
Further,
collisions are not the path to geezer health and independence. If you get into
trouble, your kids are the ones that will have the burden of visiting the ER,
neglecting their jobs and children to look after you. .
How To Know If You Should Hang Up the Car Keys
The
AARP puts forth these warning signs---their list, my words:
·
Your parking
is way off. Not within the lines.
· Scrapes and dings, not only on the car, but on
the garage, mailboxes or fences.
· Fender benders.
· Stopping in traffic for no reason.
· Getting lost a lot.
· Not using signals or using them wrong---driving a
hundred miles on a freeway with your left clicker on.
· Hard for you to move into the correct lane of
traffic.
· Hitting curbs.
· Driving too fast or too slow.
· Slow response to surprise situations.
· Getting all worked up when driving.
· More close calls.
· Claiming that “cars come out of nowhere” at you.
· Trouble getting your foot from the gas to the
brake.
· Clueless about dangerous situations.
I’d
add a few more things: If your children tell you that it’s time to stop
driving, they are probably right. If you have trouble seeing at night and can’t
tell a black-coated person on the roadside from a penguin out for a stroll,
it’s time to stop driving after dark.
Other
things to watch: you‘ve gotten so
short with age, you can’t see over the dash. Or you can’t turn your neck to
check out the blind spot and everything looks like a blind spot.
The
truth is, some day, if we live long enough, we all will have to stop driving
and it’s a good idea to begin thinking now how get to the store, the doc or
your favorite watering hole. This is easier said than done, but public
transport, friends, neighbors and moving into a town center in the later years
are all possibilities.
So
is taking a younger lover with a clean driving record. Your choice.