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Home > My Sister Might Move In

My Sister Might Move In

November 25th, 2019 at 09:36 am

My sister (who is 61, I'm 11 1/2 years younger) hurt herself on the job a while back and can no longer lift the elderly out of their beds or help load them into vehicles for transport. Right now she's going through a thing where the doctor evaluates her for whether or not she can resume this duty or not. Sister says not. If the doctor says she can and they make her, her condition is going to get worse. This is one of those work claim doctors, not one that you know and trust, and those always seem to be slanted towards the employer and not the employee.

If she can't do the job anymore, she'll be let go, in which case she will have to move in here. She'll be okay when she turns 62 next September and can start drawing social security, but until then, things will be difficult. Even a job at McDonald's requires you to lift 40 pounds.

So we have started cleaning out the upstairs. There are two rooms up there, plus a storage room, and two closets, and they are pretty roomy, but they are chock full of junk. The goal is to get one room cleaned out more quickly so if she suddenly can't make rent she has somewhere to go, and then work a little more slowly on the other one. They need to be cleaned out anyway. Mom has a lot of junk up there that she just doesn't need. Extra furniture and just boxes full of junk and stuff she has been storing for my niece and my nephew that should have gone to their homes long ago as they are 38 and 40 respectively.

But there's also a lot of stuff from my grandma who died when I was 27. And there's still a lot of my dad's old clothes and he's been gone for years. And by old, I don't even mean the clothes he wore, I mean clothes from when he was in high school or young adulthood (like suits) that he wouldn't have even been able to get into for a couple of decades before he died. There are also dresses my mom has from when I was a kid that she would have to lose 100 pounds to wear and are hopelessly outdated. I know where I get the pack rat gene from.

I think, honestly, that my sister might move in when she retires anyway. Which is good, because it means when we move out, Mom won't be alone. I really don't think she should be alone anymore. She says she's fine, but she's not. She's forgetful. Not dementia, yet, but sometimes she makes me wonder. She's mostly careless forgetful.

I don't know if sister will contribute to expenses or not, but I don't really care. Even if she is still working her income is not great. Above minimum wage by a few dollars. We don't mind covering that if that is what she needs. You take care of family, you know? I know they will go up if she lives here, though, because the upstairs isn't serviced by the gas furnace and she would have to use electric heat during the cold months, which are many here.

She's easy enough to get along with and she and Mom get on well, so I think it would be good for both of them if she comes.

5 Responses to “My Sister Might Move In”

  1. CB in the City Says:
    1574687562

    It's wonderful that you can step up and take care of your sister, and it sounds like she will be a good addition to the family.

  2. Fern Says:
    1574690879

    It sounds like it will benefit everyone to be together. You might consider charging her a very nominal monthly "rent" of $100-200/mth which would cover the extra groceries and utilities; once she moves in, her expenses will be nil, probably just her car/insurance, and she should be able to cover it using a small portion of her SS checks.

  3. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    1574696528

    sorry for your sister. Glad that you can help. Maybe she can put out word that she will dog/pet sit. Either go to people's homes and let pets out or take in 1 pet at a time to watch. Trust me I would kill to have someone privately take in my dog. You've read the stuff. I can't find a groomer, I tried a private one and she cut him 3 places. Plus we still can't send him anywhere to watch while we travel. I'm stressed out over the longer trip we are planning. I have a couple of friends but I hate to keep asking.

  4. terri77 Says:
    1574950848

    Good suggestions about the nominal rent & producing income by doing odd jobs. I think her having to move in would actually be a blessing for both her & your mom.

  5. rob62521 Says:
    1574976136

    That's great that your sister can move in and it would work out. It sounds like this might be a blessing in disguise.

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