Margie Lachman(2004) provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing midlife adults, outlining the roles and responsibilities of those entering the "afternoon of life" (Jung).

These include:

1. Losing parents and experiencing associated grief.
2. Launching children into their own lives.
3. Adjusting to home life without children (often referred to as theempty nest).
4. Dealing with adult children who return to live at home (known as boomerang children in the United States).
5. Becoming grandparents.
6. Preparing for late adulthood.
7. Acting as caregivers for aging parents or spouses.

Taken singly or together, these can represent a fundamental reorientation of outlook, investment, attitudes, and personal relationships which can present formidable obstacles in terms of social and economic challenges. They may also be affected by circumstances outside our control, at a time that we may have envisaged as planned and under control.

Questions

1. Discuss some of the physical changes that you can expect across middle and older adulthood. What steps are you taking now to ensure a healthy aging process?

2. It is important to begin thinking about retirement in young adulthood. When do you plan on beginning to save for retirement? Discuss what you hope to do in retirement and how much money you will need to have saved in order to have the lifestyle that you desire in your golden years.