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My parents were divorced after 35 years of marriage. They both remarried later. Mother divorced again due to the husband running off with a 19 year old employee. Daddy remarried and then was widowed. When Mother was 76 I moved her to a retirement center in the town I live in and have for several years. The retirement center was new, nice, served meals in courses like restaurants do, had an activity employee, etc. Mother developed and already had a mild case of Alzheimer's, When my daughter had colon surgery, I employed a sitter to be with her while I was away. Keeping the sitter when returning. Because Mother wanted to go home to Oklahoma, and would pick up her make up case and head out walking to get there.

Then about 4 years later Dad (aged 91), could not live alone any longer, I moved him into the same retirement center. When they met the next morning ... they were glad to see each other, and said to me "we grew up together". It was as if all else ha fallen away.

Dad fell, ashort time later, went to the 'rehabilitation' center, and then the Doctors would not release him to return to where he was living, and said he had Alzheimer's. So he went to a Alzheimer's unit we have here that is as nice as it gets for such facilities. Mother and her sitter would go visit him too. After about 2 more years Mother moved to the nursing home side of this unique facility. There was no way I could lift either one of them. Daddy died just short of his 93 birthday. Mother lived to be 87. It cost two Harvard educations to keep them there. It was their money. I began to fear it would run out. I was not happy with the circumstances, yet it was the best thing possible. Losing our parents is a sad time. And I miss them greatly.

While you have your parents do talk about their youth and history and record it if possible. The time will come when they will no longer be there to ask.