8 Caregivers I’d Love to Hire for My Future Old Self #GenworthUSA

DE Landscape 08: Tiergarten Old Couple

This post was brought to you by Genworth Insurance as part of an online campaign run by the truly caring women over atย Brandfluential. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

If nothing else, the holiday season brings families together. We recently hosted Thanksgivukkah (That’s Thanksgiving + Hanukkah for my non-Jewish readers out there.) and had my parents and my wife’s family over to celebrate. From grandkids to grandparents, we had a huge age span going from 8 years old to 84 years young.

Inevitably, the holidays somehow become a stressful time (all the cooking, cleaning and spending more time together than normalย with your family) but it’s also a really wonderful end of the year to look back at what got you to that point and reflect upon life, love and just all-around happiness.

My parents are older (Note I didn’t say “old” on the off chance they’re reading this…) but are still quite active. So it’s hard for me to think of them as ever becoming “old people.” You know the type. The older men and women who can’t get around without canes or walkers. The kind who need to be in a home or have someone helping them out around the house.

My parents moved up to the Albany area a few years ago to be closer to my sister and her family. They’re only about 10 minutes away from each other and while my parents are there to help out with their granddaughter, I know that should they ever need assistance themselves, my sister is right there to lend a hand.

It got me thinking, though. When I’m real old and feeble and Allie’s sick of taking care of me, who would I want to hire as a caregiver for us? If I could bend the laws of reality, there are loads of fictional butlers and nannies who I think would make for awesome caregivers. Who’d make my list? Glad you asked!

8 Caregivers I’d Love to Hire for My Future Old Self

1. Alfred Pennyworth – If Bruce Wayne’s butler is good enough to keep Batman alive, imagine what he’d do for a pair of regular old folks like me and Allie? I just wonder if he’d be any good at making matzo ball soup….

2. Mrs. Garrett – I grew up on The Facts of Life, so I feel like Edna Garret is already part of my family! She was always there for Tootie, Natalie, Blair and even the tough-as-nails Jo when they needed her most. I’d certainly take the good and take the bad and take them both and there I’d have… the best Caregiver!

3. Mary Poppins – She’s got an umbrella that lets her fly and she can hook me up with dancing penguins. ‘Nuff said!

4. Jessieย Prescott – She’s another redhead, but she’s also the star of her own Disney sitcom. She’s young, spunky and somehow manages to keep her job while dealing with a number of highly mischievous kids. She’d take good care of us in our old age, and if not, at least she’d be entertaining!

5. Nanny McPhee – So she’s not the most pleasing on the eyes, but I figure when I’m old enough to need a Caregiver, chances are my eyesight will be shot anyways. Nanny McPhee would certainly cast her magical charms on our lives, so I wouldn’t need worry about anything other than losing at BINGO. Though I bet Nanny McPhee could help out in that department too…

6. Tony Micelli – Okay, so he’s more of a housekeeper than a nanny, but tough-guy Tony Micelli has a true heart of gold and will always do the right thing, no matter how tough or downright embarrassing it may be for him. As long as he knows who’s the boss, I think he’ll take great care of us!

7. Mrs. Doubtfire – Forgetting the fact that it’s a man dressed up as a woman, Mrs. D really knows how to mix taking caring of someone with having a grand old time. She’d be a blast to have around, plus it’s real comforting knowing that she’s quite adept at doing the Heimlich maneuver.

8.ย Lynn Belvedere – Old people love their tea and nobody but nobody can brew a cup more perfect than thee British. Mr. Belvedere’s already used to dealing with crazy American families, so I don’t think he’d have any issues at all taking care of me and Allie. As long as he doesn’t try serving us blood pudding, we’ll be fine.

Okay, so none of those folks actually exist. But how much fun would it be if they did? I know they probably wouldn’t be tops on a list of Caregivers in reality, especially since there are so many wonderful and loving people out there right now who are fantastic Caregivers.

Companies like Genworth offer assistance when it comes to finding the right Caregiver for your parents (or even yourself). If your parents live far away from you, your first step may be to convince them to move closer. Whether you succeed or not, you can certainly get plenty of information and fabulous resources from Genworth. I always knew Genworth offered financial assistance and life insurance, but they can also help you actually locate a proper Caregiver, calculate costs and discuss a variety of options.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Or else you may find yourself on the losing end of a nanny-starring sitcom.

Photo credit: Francisco Osorio via Flickr

25 thoughts on “8 Caregivers I’d Love to Hire for My Future Old Self #GenworthUSA”

  1. My pal advised I might like that website. He or she had been completely suitable. This informative article actually produced our working day. You cannot think about basically the way a whole lot time I had created wasted with this details! Thank you so much!

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  2. I love Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life :-). She would have to be my choice! This is such a fun list. It really does make you ponder the future though, doesn’t it? Reminds me of a great book I just finished entitled, Rich in Years, by Johann Christoph Arnold, which showed me positive inspiration that life is worth living in older age. I highly recommend this one. http://www.richinyears.com

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  3. LOVE Mrs Doubtfire! I seriously worry about who will be carrying for me when I get old. I really need to start planning that. Not sure my kids are going to want to deal with me at that age!

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  4. This is great. I LOVE Nanny McFee. She’s so magical! And Mrs. Doubtfire would definitely keep the kids laughing while they do their homework and chores. ๐Ÿ™‚

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  5. Some how I thought you’d be too young to remember Mr. Belvedere! Neat list though…I think I’d add the nurse from The Notebook, too, but I don’t remember her name. ๐Ÿ™‚

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  6. Eye sight shot, oh my achin’ knees! Nanny McPhee is the one for me!
    Well, unless you had listed Mr. T.

    (Yes, as I get older, my rhyming gets may get better! But that doesn’t make my choice Mr. Belvedere.)

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  7. What a great list! My parents live in another state but both of them have talked about moving closer to me when they retire. I worry about them already and they’re still fairly young so I don’t know what I’ll do if they choose not to move this way in the future.

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  8. I hate to think of my parents as getting old too. ๐Ÿ™ They are both in their mid 60’s but are very active. Ski, razor ride, golf. My parents live about 4 hours away and I wish I could convince them to move closer. I have 3 siblings within an hour of myself. They’ve always lived in the same place though and they are happy there so I doubt they would move. I do want to be there for them when they get to the point of needing caregiving though, because I would want to help as much as I can. I’m glad that there are resources out there like Genworth.

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  9. 1. My hubby is British so Pennyworth is naturally our first choice, despite Mary Poppins and Nanny McPhee being British. Poppins absolutely terrified me as a child, and I know it’s shallow, but I’m pretty sure Nanny McPhee’s wonky tooth would drive me to distraction.

    2. I can see her hanging out with us in our old age.

    3. See Number 1.

    4. Oh goodness, she annoys the dough outta me! She’s such a clutz! I can’t see her managing to come change my IV bag without tripping over the cord to the respiration machine keeping me alive! Woops!

    5. See number 1.

    6. He’s hot! Still. So yeah, if Pennyworth can’t take the gig, I’m good with Tony.

    7. If she can occasionally morph into Robin Williams, then it’s a deal! Humor helps take away some of the sting of the indignities of getting old!

    8. Despite being British, I have no idea who this is!

    And hey, what about Alice from the Brady Bunch like Pamela mentioned. Or Mr. French from Family Affair! He was the bees knees!

    This was a great post . . . and were it that we could actually have our pick of eventual caretakers, that would be heaven! But on a serious note, it’s something to think about – the whole long term care issue – especially if you have children that end up being unable to help care for you, or you don’t want to burden them with care-giving when the time comes.

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  10. some good choices you picked there kiddo,,,as I get closer to that age group,,I know I could probably live with my daughter but I honestly don’t want to do that,,I hope when the time comes that I cant take care of myself,I fade into the sunset,,I know a bit dramatic,but hey,,right now hubby an I take care of each other pretty good,I never want to be a burden on my kids,,I have 2 bio,3 step,1 adopted,all grown an gone,,an 11 grandbabies with 2 more coming soon,,,they have their own lifes an don’t need me there,,checking up on us is okay,but when I get to the point I cant take care of my own personal needs,,then close the door,im outta here!

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  11. I love your list–Mrs.Doubtfire and Mary Poppins were the first two who popped into my head as I read your title…Jessie gave me a chuckle–I’m not so sure about here, but as you said she’d be entertaining! for sure! What about Alice from the Brady Bunch =O)

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