What do Siblings Have To Do With Retirement?

On September 9^th I will be interviewed on Web Talk Radio by host Robert Margetic .  We will be talking about how baby boomers entering retirement need to keep social contacts especially the crucial role that maintaining or re-connecting with sibling’s plays.

Siblings are the longest deepest thread through our life and the most enduring relationship that we ever have in our family. We know them longer than our spouse and children. They are our deepest roots.

Siblings are there in the beginning, when we’re just babies and toddlers, through pimply teenage misery with us, attend our wedding, and are there for us through midlife and onto old age. The most enduring bond, as we grow old is sister or brother.

When we retire we find ourselves in something called midlife

What is midlife?

The years between late 40 to mid 70’s when people have often raised their families, have grandchildren, are retired and are interacting with their friends and siblings more and more. It is also a time to travel and celebrate rituals of the next generations.

But that fun filled retirement road gets multi pot holed, when we face an aging parent crisis that may continue for years. Who shares the fun and then the aging parent crisis and burden- our siblings. So as we retire we need to rekindle those sibling connections, if they have fallen in disrepair or worse estrangement.

So what we need is a midlife sibling manual –Why?

Because when the deepest longest relationship of our lives crumbles, there is no manual for making it better or repairing it when it breaks down. When we sever a sibling we sever a family artery and major support system that we always need but one that is essential in midlife.

For the retirement ups like travel, facebook, celebrations and deep friendship we need sibling’s .For the retirement years downs, when our aging parents need care or when we ourselves have losses like widowhood- we need siblings.

So we need to know how to put the relationship back together in midlife and I will be talking about that on Web Talk Radio on September 9th.