Just Some Updates

I finally removed the last of free shipping from my store. It took me a couple of weeks as I had a lot of older listings (mostly books) that still had free shipping. The reason I wanted get rid of free shipping  was so that this didn't happen again. I've had my Bonanza shop on vacation since that happened so I finally was able to reopen it a couple of days ago after updating the listings.

Rummage sales have exploded in my part of the country the last two weeks. My least favorite word right now is "Huge". Almost every rummage sale is described as huge. I'd like to grab some of these people by the scruff of the neck and give um a good shake after I navigate to their off the beaten path sale and find it's anything but huge. Not even 'big'. Grrr. It makes me want to buy something just so it wasn't a wasted trip. Does this happen to you too or is it a special sort of person who resides in the midwest that likes to do this?

I've had a couple of great sales lately that I wanted to point out.

I wrote about the Buster Bunny in a recent post. He sold for $45 plus shipping! I paid 0.50 for him at a church rummage sale.

I bought this Bizzy Buzz Buzz a long time ago but I didn't list it until recently. Nostalgia for your childhood toys is worth big bucks! Paid a couple of dollars for it at most and it sold for $99! plus shipping. I remember having one of these when I was a kid.

Off the topic of reselling I've been spending a lot of emotional energy lately on my Mom who has dementia. My parents actually both have dementia and live in assisted living memory care near me. 

My mother's dementia is much more difficult than my Dad's. One of the saddest and most difficult things I've been dealing with the last couple of years having a parent with dementia isn't the actual dementia but has been fighting and being a witness to the treatment by facilities and medical professionals of our old people including my Mom and Dad. It is  painful and frustrating and makes me so angry as I want this difficult time in my Mom's life to be as happy as possible. 

Some of the issues we've seen are the over medicating of people with sedatives, being pressured to sedate a parent by a physician, safety hazards that go unchecked, underpaid, overworked caregivers/aides, bad caregivers who spend more time on their phones and butts than interacting with the residents and many other things. I could go on and on and maybe will in another post. 

In some ways things are much better than 20 years ago but don't believe the pictures you see in the ads of all of the smiling elderly with the smiling caregiver behind them. It is simply advertising like any other industry. 

You'll be surprised when you start visiting care facilities at the costs and what can keep you out of a beautiful facility. The best facilities are for the wealthy and the people who do not have difficult behaviors. Most facilities in my part of the country require a person to be able to pay one to two years privately before they will accept Medicaid. This equates to $60,000 to $120,000 per parent. If you can't afford that then you move on to the places that will accept Medicaid sooner. Thus you are limited to those available in your community or to place your parent in another community away from family. The better a facility is the longer the waiting list and the choosier they can be when picking who they take. It's a stressful process. You finally think it's over when you find a facility that seems like a good fit. You've only begun because the state of care in our country is really sad. It may appear pretty on the outside. You'll find nice looking buildings now made to look more like homes. Wide open spaces. Private rooms. My parents are in one of the better places in our community in the price range that most normal people can afford. Yet though we toured many places and found them the best they could afford there are many problems facing us. It's quite stressful and painful. Here is a recent article I read.  

I'm 51 and I know some of my readers are in my age bracket. In 20 years or so we will be at this point in our lives. It is predicted that cases of dementia and need for care facilities are going to explode in the next 20 years as the baby boomers arrive at this stage in life and that we are not prepared. As resellers we talk about getting out of the corporate world to enjoy life and not worry about making more money than we need. How many of us are planning for possible life in a care facility? I know I'm not preparing. If you don't have a couple hundred thousand in the bank when you get to this age and you happen to get dementia this is what you face. 

Keep in mind our older people. Is there something you can do to make a difference in your own communities? Many older people sit alone with no family or friends. Volunteer visitors can make such a difference. Even an hour a week. Do you have a special talent, hobby or topic you like to talk about? Share it with some elders. Many times the people that get the most attention in a facility are those that have the least dementia. It's easier to interact with them. Others who may no longer talk sit ignored except when it's time to eat or go to bed. 

Lastly some documentaries I've watched that I'd recommend to you. 

Alive Inside (You can watch on Netflix or Amazone)

Dementia Village

Dementia The Unspooling Mind

I hope this wasn't too much of a downer post. Do you have elderly parents or a parent with dementia? Let me know in the comments.