So... Who Gets to Age With Grace?

Maybe you think or I thought I was gonna be spewing out a gurgling mud pool pie pool bbblllblblbl of asking everyone to appreciate and love our elderly people, how ungrateful children can be and how elderly ppl are being left to rot in old folks homes that thrive on public donation. I was thinking that. Indeed I was. We all know it. The adverts on TV every festive season gently remind us about it. It's a social phenomenon that's sad but real and it's happening in every country across the world.

I guess everyone has heard one too many messages and shout outs on that.

(but yes i agree that a one too many reminder is still good to catch our attention for a sec and keep our sense of humanity in check on and off)

Just a few thoughts that came to mind after a visit to an old folks home today.

How do you imagine yourself to be in 60 years time??

non existent cute magical grandma knitting snowflakes from the moon

some of us are gonna be the hockey grandma -is that a parallel to a hockeymom?-
the senior consultant who gets to wear socks with slippers and shorts and no one can say anything about it. or spot sportshoes with slacks. or purple socks with orange shoes. ok no. nope.

and nope.

the super duper businessman who never stops working
the owner of land properties who never has to work
the aunty running a kolo mee stall to pass time
the aunty giving line dancing lessons to church members -thr's a really cool aunty in my church who does that

we basically wana be independent financially and physically so that we can do things we love.

but you never know what kind of disease is going to come knocking on ur bones i mean door one fine day. choi touch wood but yea we all know that's imminent in old age. buy health insurance ppl!!!

when that happens, no amount of money can buy u genuine love from ur loved ones who will care for you no matter how things end up. u can pay someone tons of money to tend to ur daily needs when u're chronically ill, but it cannot buy u the bond u share with someone dear, or daily wound dressing done with love. when u're bed bound, the smallest things like feeding, bathing, clothing yourself, combing ur hair, personal hygiene, getting things to ur bedside etc will require help. who'll be willing to do that for u, and r u willing to do that for another individual?

still, buy health insurance.

we cant deny diseases like Alzheimer changes a person's behaviour. it can make them totally indifferent to someone they used to know and love so dearly, be aggressive, forgetful etc. and it brings two level of thoughts.

1. love those around you, care for them, appreciate them, and it will naturally be mutual. now i'm not saying do things with personal intent. that's just kinda weird. but u get wad i mean. i hope. :)
2. love those around you before it's too late. choi touch wood i'm once again not saying bad things are gonna happen to ur loved ones. but again, u get the gist of what i'm saying.

It also leaves us all with another important reminder.

Save for future needs!

Money isn't everything, but money is still vital. and, did i mention insurance? xP ok enough about insurance. grins.

At the end of the day, pun unintended, you still wana age with grace.

Now i certainly wana be up and active even at old age, doing lots of things, reading cute books, knitting??? hahah, baking pies??? (so stereotypical of grandmas lol), running about doing work for God, maybe still contributing medically to society?, making sure lil kids dont stuff pencil erasers up their noses or doing the Heimlich manouevre on a choking kid or doing CPR on a person who collapsed in front of me -oookkay maybe going a bit too far-

and being able to descend from the skies holding an umbrella would be cool

The old folks home isn't somewhere you ideally imagine your parents or yourself to end up in. A retirement home is different, but lets not get into that. There's no place like home. Home meaning the house+people+comfort zone+love+birds singing outside ur window lalala hehee ok

So..... basically we need to work hard, keep our brains active, keep our body fit, keep retirement savings, get insured -ok enough already, keep running the race for His Kingdom, and hope life ends in the most beautiful way possible. the word is, dignity. to live, and leave in dignity. (it's the essence of palliative care for chronically ill patients. another interesting topic to talk about.)

Hmm no it's not that i'm pessimistic or anything that i'm mentioning end of life. afterall, what awaits after that is eternal life. :D

what i'm saying is just a tip off the iceberg in the massive world of geriatrics healthcare. if u're passionate for elderly ppl, it's a great area to research on.

the awesome ppl who made today's visit possible :)

last but not least, a great shout of love and appreciation to all nursing home volunteers out there. u guys have amazing giant hearts. i stand in awe of your works.