This Thanksgiving, Don’t Just Talk Turkey!

To know me, is to know how much I love Thanksgiving and therefore, how serious I am about my turkey. So, when I found out there was a turkey shortage this year, I pre-ordered mine pronto. Nobody is going to get between me and my turkey. Did I mention I love turkey???

Okay, so enough about turkey.

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted the webinar called How to Have “The Talk” with your Aging Parents, where I gave tips and provided guidance on how to discuss end-of-life planning with family members.

One suggestion I gave is to make it an annual tradition to look at family photos, tell family stories and/or write down prized family recipes each year on Thanksgiving. Not only will this lead to great bonding moments with your family members, but oftentimes, these activities and discussions can be a great springboard for other and more in-depth estate and legacy planning discussions. Things like, if they have designated a Durable Power of Attorney, appointed a health care agent, created a living will, and if they have a Last Will & Testament.

Now while I don’t recommend that you transition from looking at photos to blurting out “Hey Dad, who is going to be the plug puller… also, could you pass the gravy?”, here are some more subtle ways to get the conversation started:

“Looking at these pictures reminds me how hard it was for Grandma at the end of her life and I don’t want the same to happen to you. What do you want done differently?”

“Remember how Uncle Joe fell while cleaning the gutters when he shouldn’t have been? Are you and Dad managing household chores ok?”

“My friend’s mom just died and they found out that she didn’t have a will. This has caused so much fighting between her and her siblings. I don’t want this to happen to our family.”

If you’d like more tips, click here to join my email list and in return, I’ll send you a FREE PDF with suggested language and resources for you.

However you decide to talk turkey this Thanksgiving, be sure to do it with love, compassion, and understanding. At the end of the day, please enjoy every moment of being with your family and taking a stroll down memory lane.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family,

Rachel Donnelly


P.S. Recently I sat down with CircleOf to answer “5 Questions” for their new blog and to honor National Family Caregivers Month. If you missed it, you can check it out here!