Forge_the_Sky
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User ID: 862
Forge_the_Sky
10mo ago
In fairness to the boomers, the boomers that are currently going on luxury cruises did spend an enormous amount of time and money raising their kids for 18 years and then paying for their college education.
I've not been above a bit of boomer-negging in my time, but I'd also add to this - what's the alternative? Sure, in previous times parents might strive to leave their children an inheritance. But this was really more a luxury of the landed and rich, the ones we pay disproportionate attention to, who leave the most records. I question how common inheritances of any size really were. And though I'm sure there are no surfeit of examples of boomers who sold their retirements for boats breast implants and booze, there also seems to be a prevailing norm of saving enough to at least scrape by on your own until you die.
Far more common was the burden of caring for ageing parents in their dotage, both financially and physically. It might just be my American individualism or whatever speaking, but, as much as I appreciate a culture that's invested enough in family and long-term bonds to respect and care for the elderly, there is something a bit perverse about landing whatever poor woman you arranged to marry your eldest son to serve you hand and foot during your last years. Fillial duty beats a lot of alternatives culturally speaking, but I don't think it beats what we strive for now.
Finally, though you note that the expectation of great returns on an expensive education were rather tragically misplaced, doesn't it make sense to give to your children when young rather than when they're old and past being able to use the resources for much of their most productive years? Inheritance is nice, but I think it's taken a backburner importance in people's priorities for a reason.
Sorry to hear it; it's one thing if their health in general is declining, it's trickier when it's just one potentially-soluble thing.
It may not be the easiest thing to find in many places, but I do Extracorporeal Shock Wave therapy - mostly on humans, but have dabbled in veterinary work - and have seen some cases of hip dysplasia significantly improve. At the very least, it does no harm and doesn't have the post-op drama and healing of surgery. Extracorporeal shock wave increases the rate of tissue healing, and via recruitment of mesenchymal stem cells can elicit a regenerative effect on local cartilage. Though it doesn't solve the core issue of hip instability, it can allow the body to 'catch up' with the progression of the degeneration and restore its function for a time.
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