i know, i'm not old yet. i shouldn't whine about my age, i'm in my prime. but i feel old! my body creaks and i have a sore back. when i bend down to pick something up my knees creak/pop and i always groan. when i did this in front of a patient she's like "you sound as old as me". i felt it too that day. maybe it's hanging out with all these old people that rubs off on me. they might be 60 years older than me but i feel connected to them. i like old people, they are funny. maybe i should call them "geriatrics" or "seniors" but i just like to say "old people". whatever.
i've been working at the nursing home for 3 years now and one of my favorite people just died. she was one of the most amazing people i've met and although she has dementia she was cool. she was a teacher and flew airplanes for fun, most exciting of all she lived to be 104. i've asked all my 100-year old patients at one time or another how they did it or how they feel about reaching that point. they kind of shrug it off as if it's no big deal. from what i can tell though, in order to make it to that age you need to be good-humored, friendly, positive and enjoy life, or more specifically enjoy the small things in life. most of them have outlived their friends and family, which is really sad. so anyway, this 104 year old lady was my favorite. her birthday was 3 days after mine and so i asked her "so, our birthdays are coming up in a few days, how should we celebrate?" she thought for awhile and she said "all i really want to do is love you". i just about lost it right there, i mean it was just so sweet i wanted to melt. that is why i still work there i guess.
although i love the old people and working with them makes my life better, i don't want to work there as a nurse. maybe i am selfish and want to have a more exciting job. i think i would lose all my skills also. mostly i think if i worked there i'd just become older, faster. i'm already physically feeling old. sometimes i feel like i think like an old person (it's 5:00, time for dinner). i've told a bunch of people that if my favorite patient (above) were to die that i'd quit my job. of course i'm not gonna do that but i just feel like something is missing there now. i am still mourning and it's been 2 weeks. there has not been an obituary/funeral for her yet so i'm really kind of annoyed at her family. the woman lived a great life of 104 years, please honor her life, DAMMIT! maybe it was a private funeral or something but at least just run a free obit in the paper. i'll just have to sort out my feelings on my own i guess.
although old people might be crazy (most of them are!) they have a lot to offer. not only the wisdom that comes with age but perspective from another generation. these people have been through so much it's amazing. many of them are lonely and have been living at the facility for awhile. some of have lost their marbles and only repeat the same lines over and over ("it's good work if you can get it, you can get it if you try"). i feel sorry for them a lot of the time but try to be more than just their caregiver when i work with them. anyone can wipe an ass, not everyone can care for people. so i guess i learn a lot from work. alls i know is that i don't want any of my relatives in a place like that. i'll admit the one i work at is a pretty swanky place but as much as it is nice, it's not home and i don't know if you can ever be comfortable there. family may come visit often, but it's not the same.
that's it. don't get old.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
1 comment:
awww! that's so sweet about your 104 year old friend. but yeah, you definately need to be loving and positive like that to be able to live for that long. old people have such a wealth of information to learn from, not just in the things that they've seen and experienced, but mostly in the perspective that they've gained and the personality that they've established after so many years of living, it's really great that you can help them share that and that you appreciate that about them, cool.
age is so relative isn't it? i mean, you've got wongie on one hand who's our age but acts and thinks like a granny, and i'm sure you've got some grannies who act like more like teenagers too huh? what a great thing it must be to be able to see life from such a positive perspective, that in my opinion is the measure of youth.
Post a Comment