There comes a point in the lives of many adult children when they are faced with the challenge of changing roles with their parents.

The child becomes the parent and the parent becomes the child who needs their grown offspring to help them as they get older.

Laura Tamblyn-Watts, the CEO of CanAge, an advocacy organization for seniors in Canada, has written an important book to help adult children deal with challenges they’ve never faced before. We talked with her recently

There are people in this world who refuse to accept the idea that they have limitations placed on them.

Especially those people who are what the rest of us would consider “old”. And we applaud them.

Fred Woolman is one such person. And you’ve got to hear his story to really appreciate that he doesn’t give a damn what the rest of the world might think he “should” be.

How do we stay positive about our lives as we get older? Can we stay positive or is it too late for us?

It’s a tough assignment made tougher by the fact that the majority of us have spent a lifetime trying to control the events we experience, attempting to bend life to our will.

As we get older, though, the years of hitting our heads against brick walls adds up and our optimism in life slides or goes into an outright tailspin.

What’s the use of trying anymore?

Well, it depends on how you’re trying.

Dr. Paula Petry, PhD knows firsthand how useless head-banging is. She also knows firsthand how beneficial it is to let go of trying to control outcomes.

The story of how she got there is remarkable. A daughter born with spina bifida. All the doctors telling her that Alexandra would die shortly after birth. Saying “no” and taking her baby home to look after her for 12 arduous years, fighting for the best care, the best specialists, and the best social programs for all developmentally challenged kids in her home state of Florida. In the process, losing her marriage, suffering financial hardship – the pile of pain and disappointment kept growing.

But, at some point shortly after her daughter transitioned at age 12, Paula began to awaken to new ways of experiencing life and she hasn’t looked back.

Today, at the age of 71, Paula is an energy practitioner, educator, speaker and author whose message you will hear loud and clear in this episode of The Art 2 Aging Podcast.