title: Changing Places: A Journey with My Parents into Their Old Age
author:  Judy Kramer 
description: Beginning as a series of newspaper columns recording how she cared for her parents, Kramer's work blossomed into a poignant book that plumbs the depths of love, loss and the ties that bind. "At times, traveling with my parents into their old age has felt like a forced march," she observes. "Often I have not wanted to go. But it gives me great satisfaction that we have dealt with the roadblocks, followed the detours, found the route, and made the trip together." The core of Kramer's book charts the course of their intertwined lives, from the point she began taking over the caregiver roleAmanaging her parents' finances, driving them to doctors' appointments, helping them move to a nursing home and so on, all while working full-time and caring for her own familyAthrough their deaths within two months of each other and the unexpected difficulties she had navigating the shoals of grief. Along the way, Kramer had to learn everything from what a durable power of attorney is to how to deal with bureaucratic complications, negotiate the vagaries of medicaid, step back when her parents made choices she felt weren't the wisest and find innovative ways to make their lives more comfortable (such as using a music stand to stabilize books that shaky hands could no longer hold). Kramer shares her frustrations and triumphs with candor; her memoir should resonate with anyone facing similar experiences. (Sept.) <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: Night	of	the	Living	Dummy	II	-	Goosebumps	31
  R.	L.	Stine
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
  1
  My	name	is	Amy	Kramer,	and	every	Thursday	night	I	feel	a	little	dumb.	That’s
  because	Thursday	is	“Family	Sharing	Night”	at	my	house.
  Sara	and	Jed	think	it’s	dumb,	too.	But	Mom	and	Dad	won’t	listen	to	our
  complaints.	“It’s	the	most	important	night	of	the	week,”	Dad	says.
  “It’s	a	family	tradition,”	Mom	adds.	“It’s	something	you	kids	will	always
  remember.”
  Right,	Mom.	It’s	something	I’ll	always	remember	as	really	painful	and
  embarrassing.
  You’ve	probably	guessed	that	on	Family	Sharing	Night,	every	member	of	the
  Kramer	family	—	except	for	George,	our	cat	—	has	to	share	something	with	the
  rest	of	the	family	It	isn’t	so	bad	for	my	sister,	Sara.	Sara	is	fourteen	—	two	years
  older	than	me	—	and	she’s	a	genius	painter.	Really.	One	of	her	paintings	was
  chosen	for	a	show	at	the	art	museum	downtown.	Sara	may	go	to	a	special	arts
  high	school	next	year.
  So	Sara	always	shares	some	sketches	she’s	working	on.	Or	a	new	painting.
  And	Fam