In 1992, Houston Hodges, a retired Presbyterian minister, realized that his mother, Betty, a widow, was exhibiting clear signs of dementia and could no longer live on her own. He would have to help her pack up her house in Texas and move to a retirement village near his home in Huntsville, Alabama. Hodges began to chronicle the story of these changes as diary notes sent to a meeting on the interdenominational computer network Ecunet.
Circle of Years is a collection of those notes through June 1997, by which time Betty had had several serious illnesses along a general path of decline. Hodges agonizes over all the details involved in becoming a parent to a parent, and he confesses his many ambiguous feelings throughout the experience. But he is always there for Betty, and she remains cheerful, doing the very best she can to keep track of what is happening around her.
Hodges is a good mentor for the sandwich generation. He makes no bones about the frustrations of caring for Betty. He openly acknowledges that he, like the rest of us, can be unsettled by the twin burdens of guilt and obligation. But because he is so honest about the challenges, we really believe him when he talks about the many blessings of quality time with his "zany old mother." This is a book about respect and compassion with love and hope overflowing.