The Golden Years
I remember as a youngin the elders sitting in their rockers on the front porch in the evenings discussing events of their days.
These were not my blood family members but the neighbors who did not object to a kid from the house down the road who enjoyed hearing the old stories they all told.
Now I knew even back then that a few of those stories by the elder men were purely made up to see my reaction and to get a few of the old crones to admonish them for telling tales.
From snake wrangling to crossing a few deep rivers to clearing the garden plots and discovering arrow heads to finding the missing buckle of the harness from 2 years ago, yes I enjoyed them all.
What I most enjoyed was the feeling of being accepted as a human.
These were the days long before the a/c came along and folks all were outside in the evenings.
We had generational living then also, folks did not put their elderly families away from them.
I don't know when I first started hearing about Dementia and Alzheimer but am sure since we still had state hospitals that it occurred, it just wasn't talked about, well at least I never heard about it till long years after I had started my own family.
With so much changing in my life as I grow older and things being out of my control, I am left wondering where I fit in within humanity anymore.
Have I outlived being useful?
I have days when I don't have a free moment to think and when I slow down and sit for more than a couple of minutes I fall asleep in my chair.
I miss having babies all around me, I miss having family of my own near me.
The old term Melancholy describes some of it but not the loss of family that because to most you are just to old to be of a benefit to them.
What the hell happened to this world that the norm is to shove folks aside and call them of no benefit with nothing of value to them....
Do you see it also?
What steps can be taken to get back to being human?
Chime in and talk about it....
Very unbiblical to push people aside! Families in that time and even up to a hundred years or so ago would have multiple generations living together! The bible tells us to learn from the older people and that those people are to teach the younger. Can't really do that if the older people get put into a "retirement" home as soon as they become a burden!
Yet it is now the normal...
Sad...but like you said "normal"
I'm all about going back to the generational living days. My children are free to stay with us until they get married and even then they don't have to move far away. Also, I figure we are the best bet to take of my folks if they ever need it. Not sure the other siblings would really want to.
Each generation has something to give.
My dad had some arrowheads as well that he (or someone else in the family) found on their farm. Really neat!
Dementia and Alzheimer’s. My grandpa had it. I don’t really know what causes it, but I’m quite certain once they are put into a facility, it only gets worse. Between all the sugar filled foods on top of meds upon meds they hand out, it’s a recipe for disaster.
I wonder if some of the “shoving aside” has anything to do with kids not having much in common with their parents? His parents live minutes away from us, and my parents are only half hour away. Even though we don’t get along with them in all aspects, we still enjoy spending time with them. And now with being more self-reliant, we are learning more from /about them than we knew before.
What can we do to to get back to being human? We could “adopt” others as our family and learn to slow down and listen to each other.
That is a blessing to have them close enough you can step over to visit.
As a parent, I miss the seeing my kid and getting the visual of them, being states away I don't get to see them. Dealing with a spouse with Dementia along with all the other responsibilities here leaves me with not much time to actually visit folks. Some just don't understand the load it places.