People say old age is the recoiling of childhood. It is the phase when we want as much attention as a little toddler. We age outside but inside we become those little babies who never grow up. It’s when we want to look good but the mirror doesn’t change the reflection that keeps getting worse. The wrinkles are not welcomed happily and the loss of physical strength doesn’t tame down those desire to pose for a photograph or to go to a new place every week.
I went to an old age home today and trust me I couldn’t witness something as sad. That home housed some 56 old aged people of 65 years and more. They had a big area to sit around and have fun (you might think so). Every room had the basic amenities for a person to survive but not live.
I met an old lady who had gone senile. She uttered words which perplexed me. But she was so old and so fragile that I had tears seeing her in that condition. She wasn’t living there because her children didn’t have money to keep her but only because they didn’t have the heart to keep the person who ‘made’ them. Kept them in her womb for 9 months only to be left alone at a time when she needed them the most. She was all alone, muttering to herself and roaming around with fat glasses to show her the way.
She wasn’t the only one with a sad story. An old man just didn’t show me his face out of fear or some reasons unknown to me. He was so old but all alone too. The rest of them were locked up in their rooms. Imagine the time 20 years from now. They were young too, had the energy and the reason to live. But now lost of purpose and the reason to live and enjoy. Did they ever imagine in their wildest of dreams that they were going to end up this way, in an old age home with strangers? All this made me question ‘my generation’ and the values that they have. Can’t you keep your own parents who made you and gave you everything that could make you happy. Are you so selfish?
But on the brighter side, the home had a fixed program for morning and evening prayers. They are given proper food and looked after properly.
But is that ALL they need right now?
Such a powerful piece.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing this. It is a complicated issue fueled by our mobility and isolation in general, not just in old age. I hope for a stronger return to community values, not just the virtual ones. This in turn will benefit the very old, very young and all of us in between.
I hope you achieve what you wish for. I know we all can do better than what we are already doing. I know we can act better too!
Best of luck and thank you
This brought tears to my eyes. I wish I could take them all home with me and cook them real food and listen to all of their stories. It breaks my heart, they deserve better.
You are a lovely human being to think like that. I feel the same way
Sad but true
Seriously. Very sad and heart breaking.
as a senior I can relate. sad story nicely told
I hope you have a wonderful life with no sorrows but only joy
Yeah, another true fact, isn’t it sad how selfish people are towards their own parents? The ones who were always there for them from the beginning and till the very end. Even though all their basic necessities are fulfilled, the one thing they truly need is just a slight amount of love and being wanted which they deserve big time. Bitter sweet article. =)
As they say, love heals every pain
Thank you.
Truth can hurt. There are so many people locked in ‘homes’ which are not ‘homes’ but houses. Devoid of love. My father has been with us for two years now. He will soon be 89.
He is leaving me though. Returning to his beloved homeland overseas. I pray for all who are crying inside and wish that their children could feel the pain of abandonment. On a brighter note, thank you for your encouraging “like” on my blog.
I am so glad to see that humanity is still alive in some hearts and not all of us have become those emotionless greedy creatures who fail to understand their own parents.
Thank you.
I wanted to like this but had no option so I’m leaving a comment. Amazing dead-on post. I plan to start taking my son to the elderly homes in my community to just spread some love and joy, In my Granny’s last days she was put into an elder care home and I couldn’t imagine. I jokingly tell my mother that I will at least lock her in the closet. LoL. But really is a live-in nurse really that much more. In those days our elders just want to be around family and familiar faces but people are too busy. Wonder if they consider someone may be too busy for them when they are that age.
PS, found the like button… LoL
PSS, fantastic word choice “malady” added to my list of favorite words!! Kudos!!! ♥
That will be a wonderful thing to do. The values that you give now will stay with your child forever and help You later in life. I am sure you are a wonderful person.
PS:I don’t include LIKE buttons. I prefer reading comments like yours rather than see the number of likes increase on my blog post