It is a fact. If you don’t die young, you will get old. In this day and age with all the vitamins and focus on healthy lifestyles we will probably be living longer than than our parents. As is usually the case. It is always amazing to me to see how society treats the aging and the feeble. Myself included. I get frustrated and annoyed when the car in front of me is driving 25 miles under the speed limit and when I get a chance to pass them I see a little old person who can barely see over the wheel driving the vehicle, I instantly think “they should take their license away” “Old people shouldn’t drive!” Then I pull into work and think “wow that’s not fair.” Should I have my license taken away every time I do something that ticks another drive off? Um well I’d have it taken away several times a day I’m sure.
Basically I want you, my reader, to do remember no matter what the age, they are still a person. Just because they drive, walk or talk slow doesn’t make them any less of a human being. They are someones beloved family member. BE NICE. You will be there very soon.
Imagine waking up one day and your body aches so bad it takes you 10 minutes to get to the bathroom, only you don’t make it in time and wet yourself. It takes you another 45 minutes to shower and get dressed. Your friends are sick or have died. You can’t see OR hear as well as you used to and you are slowly remembering that you are forgetting things. Nothing is as it used to be and it feels like the world is spinning around you. It is frightening and overwhelming. Especially when you have people reminding you with their looks that you are old and feeble. Do not discount them because they can’t walk straight or god forbid use a walker or wheelchair. They are still viable human beings with hearts and feelings that get hurt. You may not be able to see it. But I do. I know people who don’t live the assisted living because they are ashamed of being old. ASHAMED OF BEING OLD?! Really when there are people running about with tattoos and holes on their faces and these senior citizens are ashamed of using walkers and wheelchairs. Shame on us.
If we are truly going to call these elderly people “The Greatest Generation” then we need to treat them that way. A little compassion and understanding goes a long way. These people have brought our country from the brink of despair, built it up to something great. They are proud and they should be. They are our history, we are their legacy.
