"Which of the five stages of death is 'eats a tuna sandwich?'"

[kpete]

http://www.newyorker.com/sandbox/sketchbook/chast-parents/

[Journeyman]

1. K&R. . .

Marked to read later.

[PSPS]

2. I guess Roz is now in the Orphans' Club. As usual, she can make even the unpleasant an amusing tale

[Mean Gene]

3. Thank You for this. n/t

n/t

[ladywnch]

4. +1

[Zorra]

5. Ain't that America. nt

[fleabiscuit]

6. We forget about the common bonds.

Our last set of parents made to 92 each. They stay on a shelf in the garage where we are always coming and going.

KR

[Paper Roses]

7. To us old timers, a lot of this hits home. n/t

[kpete]

8. home

and the gut


peace, kp

[watercolors]

9. This hit home on so many levels!

I have been thru most of it with my mom. We are trying to make sure our children have it easier, I am constantly getting rid of "stuff " & cleaning [LOL]. We are down sizing & having children take things they want . My Mom 98 yrs is in nursing home now, we are in our late 70's & it was a lesson well learned dealing with it all!

[ladywnch]

17. my mom is doing the same thing........I'm 56, she's 77 and grandma turns 99 this month

She's cleaning out the house (so we dont have to). mom is so afraid of leaving us in a "situation" by living as long as her mother is living, and how we'll be able to care for her and ourselves in our senior years........the strain, the grief of watching their decline, the finances......... it scares me that I might not be able to care for my mother the way she cared for dad and her mom........

[alcina]

10. Thank you for posting this

It helped ease the stress of today's visit to "the home."

[pnwmom]

11. I love this and it's so real -- but isn't it covered by copyright law? n/t

[frazzled]

12. Roz.Chast.Get.Out.Of.My.Head

We have been through so much of this with parents.

Only Roz Chast can be so acutely perceptive, philosophical on the one hand and hysterically funny on the other—all at the same time. I suspect there are some copyright issues with you posting this whole thing, but thanks anyway!

[ladywnch]

16. +1

[Hekate]

13. "Extend human life span to 140" >sigh< No thanks.

Thank you, kpete. Thank you Roz Chast. It's a heartbreakingly wonderful telling.

[mak3cats]

14. The only good thing about being an orphan before I turned 40...

...is not having to go through this with my parents. But I'd still rather have them - I just outlived my mom and I'm not 54 yet.

[sibelian]

15. Excellent.

Luckily mine are very much still in the TV commercial phase. 70 and going skiing this weekend...

I keep telling myself that one day before they go they'll think I'm basically OK and say so.

[uppityperson]

18. Guilty, relieved, jealous, grateful. I sit watching a LOL nap while someone else helps

my parent get dressed.

Good strip, thank you.

[BrotherIvan]

19. Oh my, so much truth in this simple "cartoon"

I can relate to so much of this, including the "a lot more painful, humiliating, long-lasting and hideously expensive." And the GUILT. It's awful for both the parents and children. We basically wiped out my mother's estate taking care of her for the last two years of her life, bed-ridden by chemo that did nothing but make her worse, doctors who didn't give a damn and an oncologist who abandoned her care. A near physical & nervous breakdown and nearly losing my job trying to care for her and manage it all. The only people that cared were the home nurses and hospice (most of whom were minority women). All with medicare and the very best insurance, we mortgaged everything.

I hope I can figure out a better way when my time comes, but it seems like the way we are set up to hold on to the bitter, bitter end, with absolutely no quality of life leads to an end that is a relief for all involved. It's a horrible way to live/die and has zero dignity. Ice floes would seem highly preferable.

Thanks for posting and cheers to this wonderful artist.