My Grandpa was killed in an accident when I was seven, a year later my Grandma re-married a high school friend and he died 3mos later. She went into a deep depression and after she got better (had to go somewhere for a while) her memory started to fail her. She was diagnosed with short term memory loss and has struggled against it ever since. It has gotten worse through the years (I am now 24) where she will get confused on rather she told you something already or not, she forgets rather shes had meals or if someone stopped by. She gets frustrated as she forgets details that she wants to tell you. What helps her the most (besides medication) is a notepad which where she writes down the time and date events occur. For example she will write down is someone stops by, when she takes her meds, eats meals, etc. it helps her to be able to refer to them. She also uses these pads to write down something important she thinks someone else will want to know (about a family member, etc.). It is funny though, she will forget if you told her something 5 mins ago (and she didn't write it done) but she can tell you details about her childhood in great depth (she is 81). I would have your Mom check out as she may have had a mini stroke, an MRI and CAT scan would probably be a good idea. Call or doctor and tell him/her what is going on and ask if you can have a schedule a check up centering around these new problems. If it wasn't a stoke there are still meds that can help. I hope all goes well, Tobey

Believe it or not, I thought I was going to have to take my mom to emergency AGAIN! The last two weeks have been pretty hectic for me. Our first grandchild was born and she had serious breathing difficulties. She improved quickly, but, in the meantime, I didn't go visit my mother as often as usual. And last week we took a two day trip to see the baby. When I finally saw my mother yesterday, I discovered that she had not had a bowel movement for ten days. TEN DAYS!! She never said anything to me before we left and she wouldn't have said anything if I hadn't noticed her "poop" calendar. All I could think of was, "Oh, great! Another trip to the emergency room!" I wanted to avoid that at almost any cost; it would be too embarrassing. So I took her to the drugstore to buy an enema bag. At her assisted living apartment, I put it together (I ended up with two blisters from connecting the ribbed plastic tubing to all the parts.) I told her to add Milk of Magnesia to her daily routine and take the Dulcolax every night instead of twice a week. Then I left and crossed my fingers. I just called her and the enema worked. Thank goodness! I dreaded taking her to the doctor again over her constipation. Even though I've got signs up in her apartment and lecture her every time I see her, I now know that she absolutely cannot be trusted to drink anywhere near the amount of water she should be consuming. So I will now have to buy her four gallons of bottled water each week. I'm going to mark them so she'll know she has to consume at least half of the gallon each day. I'm also going to give her one of our giant, oversized tumblers and tell her she need to drink three glassfuls each day. She's already taking four Metamucil tablets and three stool softeners each day. And every Monday & Thursday she takes Dulcolax. She really shouldn't be having a problem, but I know that the missing key is the water intake. As you can tell, this situation frustrates me. She has other problems -- wet macular degeneration & severe osteoarthritis in her knees. The doctors haven't been able to help either of those problems, But at least she can do something to ease her constipation! Thanks for listening, Sue

I just don't get all these posts about induction having a learning curve. Took me about 5 minutes to figure it out. I will conceed the touch pad point -- I know some people don't like them (even younger people). But the controls are not hard to use. Instead of a dial with low, med, high and several notches between, you have a numbered 1-10 system. No biggie. I think a senior (or anyone) interested enough in induction to consider buying it is also intelligent enough to understand why their old pots won't work. Sheesh -- you don't have a very high opinion of seniors' intelligence do you Antss. If you're in the KB industry, it might behoove you to drop some of your stereotypical ideas. Seniors don't all live in poverty and in many cases have much more spending power than younger people. Seems like your attitudes could turn away a lot of good customers. I don't mean to sound **tchy. But your comments are really kind of appalling.

Hi everyone, thank you for all of the comments. I do appreciate everything that has been written and all of the suggestions and points brought up. The thing is, my mom and dad have worked hard their whole lives and if this is something they want to do, I am in no position to tell them otherwise and wouldn't dream of doing so. My mom hates the short cabinets (not the cherry) and as this is her dream house otherwise, she is not going to budge on the idea of updating -- especially when she would prefer to stay in this home as long as possible rather than buy new. I guess I don't see it as wasteful if this is something she wants and again, I have to reiterate that when they eventually do go to sell, being a little fresher will not exactly hurt them; on the contrary around here in this particular market. As for the goofy photoshop I posted, none of those things were my suggestions or even set in stone...we were just playing around with ideas and especially wanting to look at the stacked cabinets. So not really trying to be trendy with the marble etc., just grabbed a lighter counter to use for the photo because I know my mom intends to lighten things up on the counters and backsplash. And again, the cabinets in the photos are darker looking than they are in real life so I'm afraid they are not the best representation. I have to admit I am kind of finding it amusing everyone on a decorating/remodeling site is advising against remodeling this kitchen even when the owner wants to, but I do understand your reservations and in many other cases, I would totally agree with you. Real estate wise, I've lived in areas where it didn't matter at all and I've lived in areas where it does and unfortunately (or fortunately if you actually enjoy the process), the latter is the soup of the day around here. I'm in the midst of a master bath remodel right now myself and it's downright addictive so I get why my mom is into the idea, though. Anyway, again, thank you very much! I will answer some comments below: Nosoccermom - "I do like your proposed changes. The only thing that I personally would prefer is a more streamlined (non-wood) hood, but it sounds like your mom likes the one you propose. I'd also put a built-in microwave in that empty fridge spot and perhaps a coffee station rather than the solid wood cabinets/drawers there, maybe even some open shelves for cookbooks." I actually would prefer it if she went with a metal range hood myself and she is actually thinking about going that way. Everything is still very much up in the air...she had just always thought she would like a wood mantle hood but seeing as she wants to mix the traditional with a touch of modern, some more sparkle would be a great idea. As for the microwave, it's actually in a drawer on the island but that spot by the fridge, she's been thinking about tall glass cabinets or open shelves there and some small drawers underneath which are actually not drawers but a flip up area for coffee etc. Hard to describe and my picture wasn't at all what she had in mind. Thank you for your suggestions! Fishymom and Javivwa, the two tone white and cherry is a non-starter not only because of my dad, but my mom is not a fan. I've seen some pretty versions of it though so I know what you're talking about and that's definitely a good option. I do think she was considering a creamy white island possibly but again, just in the talking stage. Thanks again! Sophie, in this particular area, unfortunately this kitchen is considered outdated...especially the short cabinets. Even the new cheap houses here have tall cabs so they're pretty much expected in the price range this home would be at. My mom is not into fads. In fact, she generally goes the opposite direction, so she's not really wanting to remodel to keep up with the latest trend. Again, it's both for her enjoyment while she lives in the home and when she does sell, the updates will not hurt. They never do unless they've gone horribly wrong, generally speaking. :-) Thank you for the suggestion! Kimberly, my mom is about the least wasteful person on the planet and she has done more for people in her lifetime than I will ever be able to do, so if she wants to remodel her kitchen, I don't think she's being wasteful; I think she's finally doing something for herself which I wholeheartedly applaud. She's certainly not doing it to follow a trend, she's doing it because she wants to and I don't see an issue with that. I'm sorry that you do, though. Thank you anyway. Elizard, yes, definitely all new hardware and lights etc. Jewelry is always important to a girl:-) And quartzite has actually been talked about so definitely an option, thank you! Jillius, thank you for the comments! Not sure if you saw up above but the cabinets are not that dark in real life. I understand what you mean about looming though and with the 10 ft ceilings and lighted glass as well as the cabinets that aren't that dark, it won't be quite as dismal as it might appear. I love the idea of mixing up a new material for the hood and I am definitely hoping she trends that way in the end. I really think that would help on a lot of different counts. As for the backsplash, that was just a mock up to use something lighter so definitely not the end choice or anything. I think you bring up a good point with that, however i know my mom is pretty set on keeping it all fairly light so we'll just have to see what kind of counter material she settles on and go from there I suppose. Anyway, thanks again everyone! This is the best place and I really do appreciate the time you've all taken.