Throughout my career in the long-term care field, whether it was as an administrator, a consultant or as a caregiver, I usually would hear our seniors voice their biggest regrets in life, and two of them have been voiced consistently. Most of the seniors that I have worked with and cared for have come from the Greatest Generation era. I have kept in mind what it was like to grow up during their era, and how they viewed work and family life, and money differently from other generations thereafter. Their generation consisted of reusing items, wasting and discarding was almost a cardinal sin if it could be avoided, you didn’t spend frivolously, what you made you respected and took pride in, and you had to be innovative at many times to make more money.
The two consistent regrets listed below are to remind us in the present moment to take what they say at heart and to find the balance that they struggled to find until their later years.
- Working too many hours at the office and spending less time at home with the family. Of course, I mainly heard this from the male population since they were working an average of 10+ hours a day while their spouses were usually homemakers; if their spouses did work it would have only been part-time, per se. What I found interesting while asking them in-depth questions is the fact that they were part of the generation that believed a hard work day was not successful unless it was at LEAST 8 hours, and to be the first in and the last out; yet, they regretted later in life that they held so strong to this work life philosophy and wished they paid more attention and time with the family at home.
- Not taking vacations while they were younger and healthier. Again, it was the generation that worked hard, worked long hours, and saved. Many of my past residents wished they spent more money seeing the country and even visiting overseas, and not so much of stashing most of what they made into a bank account to prepare for long-term care. Of course, they are grateful that they did save because long-term care is very expensive, and the costs keep rising. However, many of them have voiced they should have focused a little less on long-term care planning and spent more towards traveling and hobbies.
There is a balance to everything in life. You must work hard and have at least some ambition to make ends meets, yet there must be a balance to work life and home life as well as getaways. If I could choose a takeaway for my readers, it would be to save some, spend some, give some, and enjoy what this life has to offer.
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