Ageing Gracefully

When I was a young person about fifteen years old I viewed people over sixty to be very old. We had a few people we knew who were elderly  and they held a special place in our family. As years went by and we  ourselves age we see things very much differently. We begin to see that age is a very relative state and as we all add on time to our lives every second we give some thought to the subject.

I live with a lady who is ninety six years old and it is a real privilege  to study the term we use so often about aging gracefully. Older people lose some of their ability to have all their physical assets intact and have to accept a lesser role in life. Many lose some of their mental capacities and have to accept this fact.The lady I know and relate to each day has had an absolutely  free pass on all the little problems that people aging encounter.

Doris is my mother in law and has lived with us for the last 14 years. She has been an active ,contributing member of our family and has travelled with us throughout these years. Travelling many hours some days but she never slept. Doris wants to see where she is going and loves to see the trees and countryside. When I get involved with projects in the kitchen she is my helper. When making bread she has the knack of kneading the bread for the final time before putting it in the pans for baking. Doris wants to be needed and she is. If we make a sound in the kitchen like washing dishes she appears out of nowhere with a drying towel in her hand.

During the last months Doris has had a few problems which she has a hard time accepting. Her knees hurt, sometimes her hips are sore, she has a little problem with the stairs but still manages and so on.
Mer memory is not great and you might find when drying the dishes you might find some things in strange places but she still helps all the time.

Doris is aging and finds it not so good but it is we who are having the problem .Watching someone you love grow old should be the most natural thing in the world but we probably see ourselves in her place. I only hope that when and if I am 96 years old I can age as Doris is aging....gracefully.