The Oldies

Old people can be such a joy.  Of course there are some horrible old people out there who are opinionated and stuck in their ways, who never have a positive word to say about anything or anyone else, which I am quite sure that I will be writing a blog or two on, in the not too distant future....  But for today, I will talk about the good ol' girls and boys ?  They usually have more time on their hands which means that they can give more time to us without having to rush off here, there and everywhere.  They can sit with us (or us with them..) sharing a cup of tea (not literally sharing the same cup tea of course, I do mean one each ? perhaps I should have said "sharing a pot of tea") and for those 15 -30 minutes, you get their full undivided attention (although their focus may wander but mine does that too and I'm only in my early 40's!!!).  There are no phones pinging every few seconds and them picking it up to look at who has messaged them/them replying, instead, you can have a full on conversation.  In this fast paced world, that can only be a good thing, right?  

Older folk can certainly teach us a thing or two if we are ready to listen to them.  I used to visit an old lady in her 80's when I was a lot, lot younger and she'd tell me her stories about her past.  She also used to tell me how she would still toast her bread by her coal fire in the morning rather than use a toaster/grill.  That her fire would be her source of hot water and heating and that she'd grow all her own fruit and vegetables.  I think that it was her way of 'showing off' that her way was better.  Of course, that is a matter of opinion but I certainly think it's great to grow your own fruit and veg ?. 

I remember one time when 'Old Patts' (we never called her this to her face of course although she knew that we spoke of her with this name ?) her name was Mrs Patterson, encouraged me to try some of her home grown raspberries.  She told me that they didn't need washing before eating as they had only come from her garden.  I could see a little maggot on one of them and as she was loads older than me and I was quite shy, I didn't question her ? but was quite consciously thinking 'I CANNOT eat a raspberry with a bloody maggot on it!!!!!'  I remember quite vividly, there were about 6 or 7 raspberries in a little white plastic pot and one visible maggot!!!  To this day, I am not sure whether she knew that the maggot was in the pot and was having a laugh at my expense or whether she was being kind in offering me the raspberries?!?!?  Anyway, I digress, I was talking about nice old people and this possibly wasn't a nice thing, although I can still see her sitting there on her stall at the kitchen table, smiling at me and encouraging me to eat said raspberry maggot!!!!  I'll try to remember the smile as a sincere smile and a kind act instead of the possible crafty old lady smile ?.

I often see two of my elderly neighbours, Rose and Barb pottering about in their front gardens.  They live a couple of doors down from one another and are clearly very good friends.  I guess I have known them for about 10 years and they were old when I first met them!  Barb is more sprightly than Rose and their friendship is really rather lovely to see.  They go down to the town together to get their shopping and you can see that Barb, being a bit more mobile, watches out for Rose.  I do hope that as I reach my old age, that I have good friends and neighbours at that stage in life too. 

I stopped to have a chat this morning with Rose while she was sweeping the front garden.  She was telling me how her son was coming on Sunday (Mother's Day) and that she had a list of jobs for him to do - we both laughed at how pleased he will be with this...  She does like a good ol' natter, clearly lonely at times and she is very kind.  After chatting with lonely people, although it feels good to have given them that bit of time, it always feels like I'd like to give more but in this fast paced world that we now live in, free time is not something that many of us have in abundance - there is always so much to get done or at least try to get completed!

I have heard of a local 'Old People's Home' that now have a weekly session for Mum's/Dad's/Carer's to go along to with their babies and toddlers which has the potential to benefit all involved.  The staff that work there get a bit of a change to their routine as much as the residents and the children and carers.  One lady, Jo (Mum of 7 month old Angelina) who I spoke to recently and has been to this group, said that they had a singing session, tea and biscuits and a natter with the residents.  She told me how Maud (a resident with slight dementia) had asked to hold her daughter, although Jo was a little apprehensive, she put baby Angelina into her arms (and was there ready to catch the baby...) and the delight on Maud's face was a picture of pure happiness ?