A group of older gentlemen, all of them well into the retirement age, were discussing retirement villages. I'll preface with this, the town they were talking about is a college town that also has a growing population of retirees, many of whom are former professors. One man said, "Now, Jim, I don't want to go live with a bunch of retired professors! They all 'know it all'!" I almost laughed out loud. His tone was very "hacked off" and he seemed so passionate about his dislike for retired professors. I wondered what led him to dislike them so much? Was it just one incident? One person? How long has he felt this way? Did he have a bad college experience? Did a professor flunk him? Whatever it was, something had really set him off about professors.
We were still laughing about the "know it alls" when he started in on heart doctors. "If you go to a heart doctor, the first thing they do is put you on a bunch of medicine. Then you feel like crap! They had me on that stuff and after two months of feeling horrible, I went to a real doctor and he told me to get off of that stuff!" Apparently, he dislikes heart doctors, too, and he doesn't even consider them to be real doctors! lol
As we listened to them talk, Mom and I began talking about getting older and a few days ago I watched Willard Scott sending out happy birthday wishes on the Today show. As I watched the faces of the 100+ age group scroll by, I wondered what their life must have been like, what stories could they tell? They weren't much younger than I am now when the Great Depression hit. How did they get through those times? How did they have the strength to continue on, believing that it would get better? How did they have the courage to start families during that time? Several years ago, an elderly woman from a town near here, who had lived through the Depression, died in her home and one of the things that surprised me was that she had a paper towel laying flat on her bathroom counter. It had been used, rinsed and laid out to dry more than once. She didn't want to waste the paper towel. I don't know what it was used for, but it was used repeatedly, rinsed and again carefully laid out to dry. What kind of experience does a person have to go through to become that concerned with not wasting a paper towel? Most of us would have used it once and tossed it in the trash. It really made me wonder, "What do I waste?" Could I reuse a paper towel if I had to? This generation of Americans also saw World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, the implementation of the interstate highway system, the movement of women into the workforce and the invention of the microwave oven - what advice would these wise old sages bestow upon us if we would just take the time to ask them? So many times we forget that as people age, they're still people, with thoughts, feelings, desires, dreams and knowledge. Sometimes they have trouble expressing all of those things, but why should we not be patient enough to let them try? We get impatient with them on the road or in stores because they're slow; I've seen young people blow them off when they asked a question. The elderly should not be forgotten by their families. These people need interaction and stimulation with friends and family just as much as the rest of us. We also need to remember that they need support as they age when their friends, siblings and spouses are passing away and as they come to terms their own impending death.
Today, because my Mom is one year closer to retirement and because none of us are getting any younger, I am encouraging you to take an interest in the elderly. If you don't have any in your family, look to your church or your community. Spend some time with them, get to know them, listen to their stories and offer them your support. Someday, you will be in their shoes.
Happy birthday, Mom!
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