
I recently had to re-do some paperwork, one thing led to another as it always does and I came across the “emergency contact” question. For the past four plus years I haven’t given it a second thought that I tend to leave that blank, unless absolutely necessary. This time though it gave me a moment of hesitation.
I have spent all week reading up on my usual reads, aging issues, statistics, trending patterns etc. Trending, hmmm, am not sure it sounds very trendy to me but apparently the amount of us who will be aging alone has been and is rapidly rising. I have a long history of working with seniors and their families, mentally visualizing my own aging is not something that I’m accustomed to doing.
For whatever reason, this time I thought about it in the context of as I age. All of us have run across this question when filling out forms, so it’s not just an aging issue. I’m curious as I type why it’s sticking out for me as such. Beyond the easy answer of it’s my normal default line of thought since it’s my field. I have an extra dose of curiosity if it’s also due to the end of the year being so close.
More questions than answers at this time. Who would should be contacted in case of emergency? What if I was older?
What if there is simply no answer to that question?
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