sweet & sad - I see it first hand - my Dad retired at 62 to improve the quality of Mom's life (he is now 94) - she has MS and is in the dementia stage most of the time. He has spent the last 32 years of his life seeing to her needs. She is now 90 - they have full time live in help as he has high BP, high cholesterol, type II diabetes, neoropathy in his feet but he still is keeping her in their home, rather than putting her in a nursing home. Carolyn

Time to bump, IMHO.

In the past 3-4 years, my sister and I have experienced the passing of our brother, mother and father. (I am 49 and she is 52). This was a horribly tumultuous and painful time - care-giving issues prior to my parents' passing were extremely difficult and I personally feel a lot of guilt for not having been there as much as I should have. But my sister didn't make it easy, and even now, our relationship is strained, though I do see a light somewhere out there. Only now, as I have been officially declared in menopause this month (or am I now post-menopausal?), do I realize that both my sister and I were probably going through perimenopause and all its various symptoms, and because of that, we were both going through changes of our own, while at the same time attempting to deal with the premature and tragic death of my brother and the slow, degenerative (both mind and body) aging of our parents. Sadly, my sister still does not wish to speak of such matters, and I am happy to have a best friend to whom I can talk about most any subject. This forum helps immensely as well. Alternating feelings of intense dread, anxiety, rage and sadness were all a part of me during those years, and even until recently. But I have a vague feeling I am becoming more at peace (or is that just wishful thinking?) DH once told me, I cannot feel guilty for something that was the way it was. I meant no intentional harm or ill-will to anyone - quite the contrary - I cared so much, that's why it hurt so much. My sister and I have both made it through (at least I am guessing she has - she doesn't talk about "the change" etc). There are wounds still fresh, and some very old scars - and I pray that one day we can talk openly about all that has happened. If not, so be it - maybe that's the way it is meant to be, but in the meantime - the heart must be open. And finally, after all those times I was so depressed and sad, that I thought I was mad and I felt I wanted to leave this earthly place, I now know for certain that I want to live - fully, and as best as I can - for as long as I can, with those that I love around me. Anna

I'll be shocked if Lee's new single is a hit b/c I didn't think it was very good. I don't mean the way he sung it, just the melody of the song itself. It was rather boring/blah. That song was released by U2 in 2000 and has been one of their most successful hits. It was surprising to me that AI chose songs that were previously recorded instead of a new song written just for the contestants as the first release. I think it is a good move though cause I've hated all of the first releases from the winners... none of them were written for a particular person, but just whoever ended up as the final contestants. I didn't think it worked well.