On Sunday, October 30, 2011 I went to an ecumenical church service at the assisted living facility my parents live in. When I initially sat down it seemed rather sad because the congregants were all so old (duh!). Unfortunately, more often than not these days, I am no longer the youngest person in the room, but I was, by far, here.
I visit my parents a lot, and bring my dogs with me often, so many of the residents recognize me because of the dogs (dogs are basically people magnets, they don’t only work for hot dudes and chicks…). As they got a bit more into the service I began thinking about our countries culture of youth. Most of the folks in the room have been on this earth for longer than 75 years and some have been here close to 100 years. How one looks plays an important role in our perceptions, and for many, looks are also associated with youth. So, as we all age, we pass over that 20 year old mark and one of the big challenges becomes how to continue to be able to communicate, stay relevant, interesting, and up to date.
Many kids today don’t realize that even though they are 16, 20 or 25 years old right now, probably the luckiest thing that can happen to them is that they live to have a 75th, 85th, or even a 95th birthday. On the same token, many people my age and older seem to forget that they were once young and not necessarily focused on careers, families, long term goals, etc.
Since the pay for people that work in assisted living and nursing home facilities is rather low, one of the typical outcomes is that there are a lot of young people that work in these facilities. One of the gifts my parents have always had is that they get along well with people younger than themselves and I know that having folks in their 20s around actually brightens their day. Also, the attendants that get along the best with residents are the ones that can develop some connection and where, to them, age isn’t a hinderance or sign of failure, but rather a sign of success and earned respect.
As usual, my visit made me think. Period.
