We interviewed author and aging expert Joy Loverde about how to make the most of our later years. Watch our Experts in Aging interview with her below.

This is my third go-round with being the long-distance sibling and I’ve learned quite a bit. Frankly, I made every mistake you could possibly make. And I know most of the experts!  So here are my personal tips on how to navigate the waters when you visit. Some of these may seem silly, but with family members – particularly your siblings – little things can turn into big issues really quickly.

Celebrating American independence brings to mind how dependent we are on our nation’s 65 million caregivers. Over the next 20+ years, the next civil rights issue we will face is a growing older population with more loved ones needing care as they age—whether diagnosed with a disease, disorder or living with a disability. There is a great need to recognize and support family caregivers, as they are our nation’s largest volunteer healthcare workforce. Particularly during July’s National Sandwich Generation Month, we celebrate those who are juggling children, career and caregiving for an older parent.

Using vacation days and flex time, working boomers help out by providing child care for their adult children’s kiddos.

Have you ever asked yourself, “Who’s going to take care of me when I’m old?” This is a rather modern question. For thousands of years, multiple generations have lived together making the answer to the question a foregone conclusion. In the last century, however, much of that has changed.

With so many people living solo and grown children moving away, the question of who will take care of us when we are sick, managing an injury, recovering from surgery—and even in our advanced years—needs to be asked again.

Do you have an aging parent who is living alone? Is it hard to spend the kind of quality time with them you would like? Are you worried about their well-being while being a parent to your own children? A skyrocketing number of people find themselves sandwiched between the demands of providing care and financial support to their parents and children—hence the spot-on designation of "The Sandwich Generation."

What can we do to help our parents thrive without taking an impossible burden on ourselves?