"Jeff Liebermann"
| >I don't mind at all the grand brats getting involved (and screwing up the | >systems) as that means they are physically visiting. Even if there is no | >real conversation the old folk do get a great kick out of the grand kids and | >others just being there. I have one former Marine DI that gets a real kick | >out of playing the Pony Lov game with his 7 y.o. grand daughter. | >
| >He had me set up two user names. One for his private use that is PW | >protected and one for when his grand kids visit. FWIW the 7 y.o, gave the | >old guy a WebKin doll so they can 'play' remotely. | | Nice. Abandonment by the relatives is a common problem. It's part of | the American way of aging and it sucks. I've been there myself and | can't offer any simple solution. I can fix the computers, but not the | relatives.
The inability to address the abandonment by friends and relatives is one of the reason me and mine (me/the wife/kids and grand kids) are involved with Hospice. ( I recommend to all to check into the local program and at least take the Hospice orientation classes. Not everyone is made out to do the work but taking the classes will give one a clear look into themselves.)
A side comment: through my Hospice work I've met and become friends with men who were on Iow Jima, Battan, flew B17s over Germany, P40s in China, were crew with Dolittle, landed on the beaches in Normandy, etc. Even if the stories were embellished by 50 years of selective memory the hearing was an enormous experience for me. The stories told by the ladies that stayed home were another eye opener. Stories from Korea and NAM were not quite so pleasant but deserved the telling and the hearing. I expect before long to be dealing with Gulf War vets and their families.