The Old Folks!!

I love old folks.  If I could work with them each and every day I would be perfectly happy!!  :)

I think sometimes we don't teach the younger generation to respect the elderly as much as we should.  As a matter of fact, I see more and more disrespect, which just breaks my heart.

When I see an older person driving slow and find myself getting frustrated that they are driving so slow, I remind myself of my dad, who slowly lost his memory but who still enjoyed getting out every day and driving to Braum's to get a hamburger for lunch and a soft drink.  He did that until it was too confusing for him to get from the home where I grew up to Braum's which was just a few blocks away.  I am sure there were some days where someone was behind him wondering why on earth he was going so slow.

When I hear an older person trying to tell a story of how it used to be I want to listen.  I remind myself that they too used to be just like me.  They were young, they laughed, danced, and sang and lived their lives through the happy times and sad times.  They raised kids, were married and sometimes divorced, and had really interesting lives.  Now they are just screaming for someone to recognize them as a person and not just that little old lady/or little old man who couldn't possibly know "what life is like"!


When I see all of this new technology I worry about the old folks who are being "left behind".  No longer does anyone really seem to care whether the older generation can operate or access all the new technological advances.  It's interesting, because all of the older folks are the ones who went from no tv, party line telephones, sometimes horse and buggies and no electricity, to a society that thinks every home should have a wireless hub to operate five laptops in your house and a touch screen cell phone in every pocket.  Many times I see things that say you can access it on the internet, knowing full and well there is a whole generation, where there is a large number of the population who doesn't have access and needs help even figuring out what it is and why it's important.  What I beg to ask though, is how important is some of this stuff??  I say that because when you really think about it, while most of this new technology is really important, most of it can be done without.  Sometimes maybe we should take our cue from the elderly and SIMPLIFY what is in our lives and what we choose to allow into our home.  (This is an added statement....I think it's sad that todays children have to compete with a touch screen cell phone and computers to get their parents attention.  I've seend parents sitting at tables with their children in restaurants and the kids have their cell phones at face level texting....that is just sad...)


Take some time to appreciate the older folks in your life today!!  Give them a call or stop in and visit and listen to a few stories!!