A grand visit

Let me start by saying how much I respect old people. They always have a story to tell and so much life experience that I think we could all learn from. However one of the few things that really scares me is ‘crazy’ old people. I don’t know why, but it just freaks me out when some oldie comes up to me and starts spouting gibberish or treating me like I’m some relative even though I’ve never met them before. With this in mind you can image the dread I felt at the prospect of visiting my grandpa in the home where he lives. I have been there before, but every time I get this feeling like I am going to be swarmed by a bunch of zombies who will claw at me and ask me if I’ve seen ‘so and so’ who for all I know has been dead for 10 years. Many of the people in the home have some form of Alzheimer’s or Dementia including my grandpa who can only recall bits and pieces of information, but still recognizes family and friends.

When we got there, we made the mistake of bringing the baby who is of course a magnet for those in their twilight years. Only those who had the energy to get up actually came over to see her up close and she just kind of stared blankly at them as though not sure what to make of the strangers who were trying to hold her hands. The weirdest thing was when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and saw another hand rest on my grandpa’s arm. Upon turning, I saw an old Italian woman who began saying something in her native tongue and then started to praise my grandpa as a lovely man, before turning her attention to the baby and saying how lovely and beautiful she was. Then she tottered off. I thought to myself, ‘what a nice lady to be so flattering about my family’. Then my grandpa said that the lady always came up and was very complimentary about everything and I suddenly felt used. We left when the lunch bell rang and I though to myself how stupid my fear was and how selfish it was to let it keep me from visiting my only living grandpa who may not be around to too much longer.

After that we spent some time with my grandma who still lives at home and she told us of some of the other characters in the home that she had seen when she visited. We told her about the Italian woman and how she might have some competition for grandpa and she mentioned that one time another man in the home had invited her back to his room! I had to suppress a cringe about that one though.

I guess the point of this is that if you have relatives not long for this world, you shouldn’t put off visiting them cause you’re too busy or are concerned about having to look at those close to passing on, but try to spend as much time as you can making them feel loved and happy cause although you might still have many years left to live, chances are they won’t always be around for all of them.

This has been a community service announcement.