For example, Sherry Coombes spends several days each month with her father so that the caregiver gets some time off. My husband visited his dad every month in Illinois until his death a few weeks ago. He lived in a nursing home in a small town where everyone knew him and would take him to church, bring him cookies, and just check in on him. People here help out with folks like Red Adams and Jean Wyllys and a long list of other good folks. Margaret Mead said that our deepest human need is to have someone who cares if we come home at night.
Some people move to be closer to family members.
To have at least one relative nearby can be quite comforting. Others have close relatives within the rough circle of Houston, Dallas or San Antonio not so far by Texas standards. But possibly the majority of us live quite far from other family members. It s not just geography that keeps us apart. It s also the same old stuff that makes family members fight among themselves for years.