My mom sold her house and paid $200,000 to build an addition onto mine. She now lives with me, my husband, and my teens.

Jené Luciani-Sena and her mother live under one roof.

Adrianna Newell for BI

"She will never go for that," I told my husband in 2023 when he suggested that my then-68-year-old mom sell the Hudson, New York, home she had lived in for 45 years and move an hour north to live with us.

After my stepdad died in 2020, she seemed to have a new lease on life. After all, she had been his caretaker for 25 years. She was spending time with friends, redecorating her house, and she seemed to be enjoying life.