Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

From UMassWiki

My parents and grandparents deserve to spend the final days of their lives in the company and care of their loved ones. When they reach a certain age, they may not be able to care for themselves, and need to be in the presence of their family. The people who care for and love you are the most important thing in and at the end of your life. These family members are the souls that have guided us through our days, and made the important moments what they are. Memories serve to remind us of the gifts these people have enlightened our lives with. It is a great thing to be independent and live self sufficiently, yet there comes a time when this is no longer an option. What better place to spend the last portion of your life than in the home of your children and grandchildren. When my grandmother was too old to continue living in her apartment by herself, she came to live with my family in my house. It was a great thing to have her living with us, because she had always been in my life and it only seemed right that she live with her family before any other place. It was enjoyable to have her around the house. She still helped out doing chores that needed to be done, and the stories she would tell were worth having her there alone. The elderly are very knowledgeable people, and to have an experienced person around was always desirable when I needed advice. It was enjoyable to have my grandmother living with us. We knew her health was poor, but that fact probably cut down on small arguments between family members because we were never concerned about small, insignificant details. I can not recall one thing that was negative about having her live with us. My grandmother was a kind, caring woman who lived a full and prosperous life. She got to see her children grow up and have children of their own. She loved everyone in her family and would do anything for them. I know that she appreciated living with us for the time that she did. She was very involved in anything that was going on at home and seemed to be happy when she got to be incorporated in something she would not have been if she didn’t live with us. Little things like helping make dinner, and decorating the house for holidays were things she wanted to be a part of. I am sure that having my grandmother live with us for her last days was not only meaningful and enjoyable for her, but also very good experience for myself to learn what family is all about.