My mother-in-law is a feisty 82. She worked hard to raise her four sons. Once she retired from the teaching profession she assisted one son in his bean bag business. Then at 75 she did a course in professional baking and that was followed by an art class. For all practical purposes she is a senior citizen but to her age is just a number. A keen yoga enthusiast, she bakes a mean fruit cake and is quite adept at splashing colour on a canvas besides playing chef and homemaker. She is just one among the countless retired senior citizens who now in their sunset years develop new interests and strive to live life to the fullest.
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream,"said C. S. Lewis writer of the universally acclaimed Narnia Chronicles.
Our seniors have fulfilled roles and obligations, discharged their duties and responsibilities and now feel the need of simply putting their feet up and focusing on themselves. Yet there are those who, between babysitting their grandchildren, doctor's appointments and taking care of their own homes find the time to pursue their hobbies. Health impediments will restrict activities but they march on.
Living alone has its pros and cons. Seniors live alone by choice or circumstance. When children are scattered across the country or globe, their parents will have no choice but to live all alone and if health does not permit then they will generally be placed in a 'home for the aged' or a health care facility. Some children, however, choose to take care of ailing parents or even senior uncles and aunts.
Living alone will not negatively impact their lives, if our elders choose to be socially active and gainfully occupied. A good network of friends is the best panacea to any sort of isolation or loneliness. If the right friends are not available, then joining a senior citizens club or a support group would help.
Seniors may choose to live alone (as far as they can help it) so as not to infringe on the time and space of their loved ones. It works well for both sides. Both sides visit one another; spend time with each other and nobody feels too cramped.
A certain senior is in the process of changing residence. Health does not permit her to ascend and descend three flights of stairs any longer(the building has no elevator) and so she will move to a new home which is on a lower floor, in a building with an elevator and just quarter of an hour away from her son's home.
"When I was young I used to hope that I wake up looking beautiful, these days I just hope I wake up." says a Facebook post.
As twilight sets in, and the can'ts slowly edge out the cans, it is for us, the younger generation to urge our dear golden - oldies on, to encourage, to make them feel loved and wanted and to lift their sometimes drooping spirits.
Aging is inevitable but as Charles Schultz of Peanuts fame once humorously said, "Just remember once you are over the hill, you pick up speed."
The twilight generation certainly do not want to termed as Technophobic, says a very recent newspaper report. Be it Face book, playing games or WhatsApping, they want to be in the groove. Technology allows them to be constantly connected to their loved ones. Companies are even designing senior friendly smart phones with large key board and fonts and health apps that enable them to track sugar and blood pressure. Quite a few are computer savvy too.
Their values, principles and oodles of wisdom have seen us through many a difficult situation. In days of yore instead of flying off to exotic locales, children looked forward to that annual vacation with the grandparents.
When in their prime our golden-oldies have sacrificed aplenty to allow the next generation to live more comfortably. We must respect them and treat them with care and concern just as we would treat our children. Old age, they say is a second childhood.
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