One of my all time favorite movies is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It is a brilliant coming of age story that was released as I was coming of age. I honestly have lost count of the number of times I've watched.
There is one famous quote from Ferris at the end of the movie that has become ubiquitous with Gen Xers like myself. "Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it!" This is Ferris at his peak trying to justify skipping a day of school, evading his principal, and destroying that sweet 1961 Ferrari 250 GT. Oh the irony.
Looking Around For A Plan Before The GT Crashes Off The Lift
That quote came to me last night as I got off the phone with my older sister. She is the much more refined of us kids. We were discussing our current life which includes her taking care of our aging mother. The same mom who desperately did not want 13 year old me to watch Ferris Bueller, much less find it iconic and a way to live life.
During this phone call with my sister we had to work through our mom's declining health. Yeah, instead of her getting after us as teenagers, we are now working through the process of the Baby Boomer's increased health needs as they approach the end of life. Earlier this year, we moved my mom into my sister's home so that she can be cared for in the best way possible.
The family roles have reversed in many ways since we are now caring for my mom. And unfortunately, the Ferrari is now crashing off the lift to fall out the back window as the health needs spiral.
After discussing the falls my mom has had, doctor appointments to make, scheduling potential surgeries, physical therapy appointments, and an overall difficulty of life, I had to stop and think about all that my mom has done to support me over the last half century. Life has moved pretty fast and I had to stop and look around if you will.
Looking Back
When we were kids, we were poor. So poor, I probably should have that with one "O" instead of two. The good news is that we lived in a small town in the Midwest for most of that childhood, and we didn't truly realize just how financially strapped our family was since we were just part of the crowd at school.
The place that we were rich was our family. Our parents worked hard to cultivate an almost idyllic setting. Mom didn't work outside the home. Dad had a very flexible schedule. We absolutely knew that we were loved and cared for. Oh, and they encouraged us to excel and pursue dreams. The support was immense and the love abounded.
But as great as that support system was, there wasn't much money socked away to cover for the expenses my mom is facing now.
Fortunately for my family, my sister is in a stage of life where she can take on the role of primary caregiver for my mom. It's hard work juggling all of the flaming tennis balls, but it is working. Many people aren't that fortunate. They get to this stage of life and they don't have a family support system, insurance to help cover the gaps, or money to simply manage the day to day care needs. The Baby Boomers have done a lot of things well, but this is one place where there are cracks in the system that are showing up.
But why do I bring this up other than to get my thoughts about my mom down on paper?
Constructing An End Of LIfe Plan
As the principal agent of Insurance For Texans, I've had a lot of conversations through the years with Texas families. I have helped with setting up policies for families and businesses. I have had conversations about what happens when the unthinkable comes. I have had tough conversations about how to process claims. In all of these conversations, you don't always stop and look around at your own house or family.
We offer life insurance, health insurance, Medicare, long term care insurance, and on and on. I have some of these policies on myself so that my own wife and children don't have to assume the role my saintly sister is today. As I was looking around and savoring how my mom has bailed me out countless times, I was thankful that my family can take care of our mom now even if she doesn't have all of those types of insurance in place.
If you've never looked into planning for this eventual reality, now is a great time to start. Especially if Ferris Bueller is in your wheelhouse like mine. We have experts that can help you determine needs, costs, and plans for the thing that ultimately gets all of us.
Ferris may have gotten away with his shenanigans in Chicago 40 years ago, but the reality is that none of us make it out of this planet alive. Make life easier on your family by having a plan in place before life moves too fast and you still have time to stop and look around. Click the button below to schedule time to talk to Kevin about planning for your family.
Now I'm going to go call my mom one more time just because I can.