I keep starting a blog about the interesting experiences I have caring for my aged and dear grandparents three mornings a week, but I can never get past the title. I want to share my observations in a general way--there are moments that are both poignant and amusing--without being specific enough to be disrespectful to the individuals involved. (Many good lines from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" come to mind, but they would, of course, be wholly inappropriate.)
So I decided to tell this story through the titles with which it could begin.
1. "Old Age Ain't for Sissies"
Grandpa, who has maintained his keen sense of humor long for nearly 97 years, says this to my husband on a regular basis. At first I just laughed when I heard this. But as I have witnessed firsthand the increasing humilities and decreasing of such hard-won independence that are inherent in growing old, I am no longer amused.
2. "Waiting to Die"
It gives one an entirely new perspective to the phrase "endure to the end." I'll spare you the details, as if we knew what lay ahead we would not try quite so hard to grow up so fast.
3. "Waiting for Togo" (In honor of my grandfather's sense of humor and love of good literature.)
Perhaps you would have to have read "Waiting for Godot" to appreciate my weak attempt to be punny. But since I have read it, I will simply snicker to myself.
4. "Almost Heaven"
It is a sacred experience to watch people as they prepare themselves to meet their maker. I have noticed a sweetness about their relationship that I hope to attempt to achieve myself when I grow up. I hope it doesn't take me 4 or 5 more decades to come close.
5. "Groundhog Day"
'Nuff said.
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4 comments:
Nice post, Dalene. I'm glad you're "not dead yet" and that you're having a good experience with your grandparents. I wish I'd had an experience like that with mine. Both my grandmas had dementia problems before they died, and it didn't create very happy last memories for me. I never knew either of my grandpas. You are blessed.
I think I like groundhog day best. A bit of humor, but funny in a sweet way and still sensitive.
The best story is about when the male hospice volunteer who usually shows up to help Grandpa shower was sick. A cute young girl showed up instead and Grandma almost wouldn't let her in the door. I wasn't there the first time this happened, but Grandma told me how she was certain Grandpa would refuse. She was more than a little miffed when he didn't.
The second time it happened was a couple of weeks ago and I was there that day. The look of dismay on Grandma's face was priceless. But the best part was afterwards when Grandma was teasing him (but still sort of serious) about having let a sweet young thing help him in the shower.
Grandpa said, "What you don't know is that at my age I don't even know the difference!"
Compulsive, your comment is is hilarious, your pun is a good one, and as I'm my own Gram's caretaker (she lives with my husband and me), I can appreciate your clever blog titles. I'm often thinking about setting up a separate blog dedicated to chronicling this experience I'm having with The Ancestor, but I'm so busy getting through it day to day that so far I haven't made room for the meta-stuff. It crops up in my plain ol' blog here and there.
I'm happy for you and for your grandfolks that there's sweetness there, enough to make you want to have some for yourself when you're old.
I'm glad to have found your blog--I'm sure I will be a frequent visitor here. Thanks for being articulate and interesting.
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