kittenmmm's blog post - Just another manic monday

Actually it wasn't all that bad. I can't really complain about Mondays. I work outside the home on Monday nights and I always say I don't feel like going but once I get out there I enjoy it. I work with the elderly two nights a week, Mondays and Wednesdays, unless I move them.
Monday's I work with a sweet woman who is just beginning to start down the road of dementia. She knows it, she sees it but she's still doing whatever she can and she's still a very lovely person. I go in, do her laundry, clean her house, run to the store for her and chat. I play with her dog because she can't do that anymore and Buffy still has a playful streak in her despite her age.
While I'm there I talk to some of the other residents. There's Mr. D who grows tomatoes from seeds from Italy. He gave me some last year so I could harvest the seeds. They're fabulous. The taste is so much better than what we currently have available in the states. So sweet and delicious. There's Ted, my drinking buddy. We chat and then when I leave I stop in for a beer and a talk. There's the lady with the dog...I never knew her name but we talk about my client and how sweet she is and then we talk about the dogs. And there's the african american woman. I love her spirit. She's such a sweetheart. She calls me girl or child and always leaves me feeling happy. My job is supposed to make my clients happy and their lives easier yet I always leave with a smile and often new found wisdom.
I've always had a profound respect for the elderly. It probably comes from growing up with them, my dad being the super for an elderly highrise and me being born there. I've always been perturbed by the fact that our society really tends to push them aside. Our culture is so youth oriented unlike many other cultures where the elderly are revered for their knowledge and experiences. I like being able to remain in contact with the elderly and to continue to learn things from them. I love listening to their stories. I like just being able to sit still with them and learn to appreciate what life brings.
This isn't what I expected to write about in this blog but I suppose it needed to be expressed or I wouldn't have gone on about it. Somehow, my initial thoughts have flown away for the time being. So I leave you with this and remind you to try to be a little more patient with the older people you encounter and try to remember the wisdom that they have to share. Appreciate them people...we too shall be there someday and no one wants to be forgotten. I'd like to believe that the attention that I shower on them will come back to me when I someday reach those golden years. In the meantime, just think of all the wonderful things you can learn from them.