Old Age Is Not For The Weak
When we get older, are we forgotten instead of our wisdom being used?
I found this ad on Facebook and have been dealing with it for a few years. I have gotten older and am not getting around as much. My grandchildren were not raised to be traditional and have different beliefs. Although I am the maternal grandmother, it doesn’t matter. If someone else wanted them, I never got the priority on outings with the children. Everything was always confusing when making plans with these children. They have many step-grandparents, which doesn’t matter now since they are grown and do not need guidance.
The schools have taught my grandchildren that parents and grandparents are old school and that our ways do not matter. I was warned about this years ago but did not pay attention until it was too late. I had no idea how much the indoctrination went.
My youngest son is raising one young grandchild the traditional way, and you can see the difference. He loves his grandparents and likes to be with them. His great-grandmother teaches him gardening, cooking, cleaning, and organization skills. He goes to a private school and plays basketball and tee ball. I have to say that my oldest granddaughter also learned gardening from her because she believes in organic eating.
I am one of the statistics now. I am alone and do not get any help from my grandchildren. I get a visit only from one granddaughter every now and then. The only one who would help is six years old, and the granddaughter may help if I ask her. So, let’s look at reality and see how many others are alone.
When I worked at the Assisted Living facility in 2009, it was unfortunate to see the people alone. I do not know every situation, but some were sad. One lady told me her son took her house and dumped her there. I thought she was kidding, but she was not.
Statistics of Elderly Alone
The Institution of Health says 1 out of 1000 people die alone. That is sad. I read several articles, and they said the same thing. The baby boomers are getting older. This generation has had fewer children, so what will happen to the elderly? There are a lot of elderly living in poverty and poor conditions. In England, they are finding up to 65 elderly dead in their homes a week, the Guardian says. And there are no family members to bury them.
Unless someone puts them in a nursing home, which is not the best solution, or someone is taking care of them, there has to be a better way. I know here in Georgia, we have programs, but someone has to call and fill out the forms. I am going to be honest here. When my ED at the Assisted Living went to doctors and asked them to give them referrals, I thought that was horrible. But now that I see what is happening, I do not believe it is a bad idea. I know that we called ourselves Assisted Living, but we were a nursing home, too, and we took government assistance. Maybe all doctors who take Medicare and Medicaid should make referrals if they think it would benefit the patient.
There is a ball dropped here for the elderly. Maybe the doctor needs to be more involved when they are on Medicare, and when they have a checkup, they ensure they are being taken care of. They need to add an extra program there to ensure they get what they need. They need to make referrals if they think their patient is not being cared for. What do you think?
If you have parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles, please take the time to pick up the phone and call them. Maybe they are annoying. Maybe they tell the same stories over and over. Be a good listener. Do not just talk about yourself unless they want to hear about your day. Ask them questions to see if they are caring for themselves.
I have plenty of friends. If I tightened up somewhere and wrote more stories, I could hire a cleaner. I can order a meal plan, which I think I am going to do.
And I have my writer friends and my subscribers. Please leave a comment and subscribe if this resonates with you.