Impressions and Experiences With Older

¶ … Impressions and Experiences With Older Adults in Your Life

Older members of the family and community are a part of our present just as much as they are a part of our recent history. Most of us are lucky to enjoy our grandparents and sometimes even our great-grandparents, at least for a few years of our childhood.

Unfortunately, at those young ages, we are not wise enough to make the best out of it. They have so many memories, and are so eager to pass along their knowledge gathered along the years. I always looked forward to the summer holidays because I could spend them with my grandmother. She was the best friend I ever had! She was funny, she had all the patience in the world and tried to answer all my questions, regardless of how silly they were. She showed me how being good and kind to people can be hundreds of times rewarded. Her wisdom made her able to handle me in such a manner that even if I never felt like I was admonished for my mistakes, I didn't grow to be a spoiled child either. As a child I thought things will never change for me and my grandmother. I was convinced we will always have the same relationship.

Unfortunately, the years past and the older age came hard on my grandmother. It brought her the unfortunate gift of paralysis and along with it, as it happens for most people, bitterness, frustration, and sometimes the wish to put an end to all the suffering. I was amazed to witness such dramatic changes in one person who was so special to me once! The generous, kind, patient person she was became just the opposite after she started to be so dependent on the help of everyone around her for the smallest of things, like drinking a glass of water, or washing her face. At first I was angry and could not understand. I refused to acknowledge she will never be the same as before. but, step-by-step, I began to understand the stages old people go through when they need the help of others more and more every day, not to mention the pains they go through. Further experiences broadened my horizon on the subject and the conviction that history repeats itself made me grasp a deeper understanding of the concept of society and the help of others, especially when it came to the older adults. They are a part of our memories. Our history and our identity are irreversibly connected to them. The cycle is endless and we will someday need the attention and support of the younger ones, just as my grandmother needs my parents and me.