The subject of the elderly is near and dear to my heart, especially now that I have reached my 70's. For over a decade I served as caregiver to my mom and dad. In 1990, we were transferred from southern California to east Texas. My dad, who was in his early 80's at the time, wisely concluded that he and my mom would soon be needing more assistance. So we all packed up our belongings and moved together into two news homes we had built side by side on 3 acres in the gently rolling hills of east Texas.
My caregiving duties grew heavier as the years passed. My mom required intensive care as she suffered from the effects of surgeries of both colon and breast cancer. Her memory was fading quickly and so there were life and death decisions I had to make on my mom's behalf. Our lives became so entwined, part of me died when she passed away in 2002 at the age of 89. Had she lived a few more months, my parents would have reached their 70th wedding anniversary. My dad's mind was sharp, but he became more and more frail and finally died in 2003 from an infection that his body could no longer fight. He was 93.
There will be many stories about our journey to the end on this blog. I have many regrets and so many things I wish I would have done differently. But I think most caregivers would say the same thing even though we did our very best.
As we age, we become more and more vulnerable. There is a tendency to to benignly ignore those of an advanced age. Somehow, we no longer feel what they have to say matters, that they aren't relevant, that they don't need validation, that they no longer have a contribution to make. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's no wonder so many feel useless, old and in the way.
Jesus, while he was on this earth, taught us how to treat each other with honor, respect and dignity. He taught us how to forgive and redeemed our souls. I hope my life experience stories on this blog will inspire you to go out of your way to reach out and validate those you know or meet who are experiencing the difficulties of aging. They just want to know their lives were worthwhile.
