My parents have lost a lot of their mobility over the past few years.
Just a decade ago they were both going to the gym more than two afternoons a month and taking short walks around their neighborhood on a bi-weekly basis.
As the frequency of their heavy exercise dwindled, so did their general mobility around their house. They at 1 point still had the 2 story home that my siblings and I grew up in, however it got to the point where they couldn’t handle going up and down stairs several times a day. That is when they sold their home and bought a small condominium with better disability access. There were no stairs to climb or hurdles to get around from their car to the front door. Since I live so close to their new condo, I try to stop by and help them out as often as I possibly can outside of my stressed work schedule. Anything that involves heavy lifting or getting on a ladder is reserved for myself and others whenever I am at their locale. One of the chores that I try to do as often as possible is swapping out their air conditioner filter. They both have asthma and benefit from the cleanest possible indoor air that our limited resources can muster. If I change the filter enough, it drastically reduces the amount of dust flowing through my parents’ indoor air. It is small things care about this that I can do for my parents each month that supply myself and others total peace of mind. The thought of 1 of them climbing on that ladder to reach their air handler is enough to make my head spin.