Aging. We ridicule it. Complaining of aches and pains, laughing it off. Tease over gray hair. Rarely take a step back to ask the hard questions—at least not until it is absolutely unavoidable. And when it is, it’s too late. The truth is that we work so hard to avoid it that when it finally demands our attention, we find that we are grasping at straws. One day, your parents are independent and quick-thinking, the parents you’ve always known; the next, they’re not. Maybe it’s a process that happens over time. Maybe it’s one night. In any event, you’re on the line immediately for responsibilities you never saw coming—decisions you…