In the festive atmosphere of this Spring Festival, my home is shrouded in an indescribable shadow. The 82-year-old father fell in an accident a year ago, resulting in a comminuted fracture of the femoral head. After the operation, he was no longer able to take care of himself, and this sudden change caused the whole family to fall into deep distress and anxiety.
During the Spring Festival, we hurriedly took my father from the hospital back to my younger brother's home, hoping to give him more care and attention at this time of reunion. However, as the holiday season comes to an end, we are faced with a more difficult question: how to arrange the rest of the father's life?
Sending him to a nursing home may be a seemingly simple solution. But we all know that life there is undoubtedly a torture for an old man who is accustomed to the warmth of home and loves good food. Caregivers are busy taking care of multiple elderly people, and it is impossible to be as attentive and thoughtful as family members. I had seen nursing home caregivers feeding elderly people who could not take care of themselves, and the rush and indifference made me unable to imagine how my father would be treated there.
If you don't send your father to a nursing home, how should the burden of caring for the family be shared? My younger brother and I have our own work and life, and we can't be by his side around the clock. Although the younger sister is willing to quit her job to take care of her father, the brother-in-law is firmly opposed, believing that it is the responsibility of the sons.
Although our family has many brothers and sisters, the economic situation is not optimistic. We are all toiling for a living, barely supporting our families. In the face of our father's pension problem, we all feel powerless and helpless. We know that no matter what choice we make, it will come with sacrifice and regret.
But even if it is difficult, we cannot give up our love and responsibility for our father. We started asking around looking for a suitable caregiver or babysitter. However, the ** in the market discourages us. Hiring a live-in nanny, with food and accommodation, the cost of a month was much more than we expected. How can ordinary working families like us afford such expenses?
In this predicament, we begin to reflect on ourselves. Are we too focused on material satisfaction and neglect the importance of family affection? Are we too selfish, thinking only about our own gains and losses, and neglecting to care for our families?
Perhaps, we should re-examine our values. Money is important, but family affection is even more precious. We should not let money be a stumbling block in our family responsibilities. We should learn to find balance and trade-offs in our busy lives.
We decided, no matter what, to do our best to create a warm and comfortable home for our father. We will take turns to go home to accompany him and bring him the warmth and care of home. We will also look for suitable nannies or carers who can give better care to the father professionally.
In this process, we may encounter more difficulties and challenges. But we believe that as long as we stick together and support each other, nothing can stop us from moving forward.
The difficulty of providing for the elderly is a problem that many families will face. But no matter how great the difficulties, we must not give up our love and responsibility for our families. Let's work together to create a warm and happy home for our families!