Old age is an unavoidable phenomenon.
Infant – toddler – teenage – young adult – adult – old age, everyone has to go from this cycle.
As our parents get older, we are taking them for granted.
What do these old parents need from you??
- Time – As you get younger, and busy in your office and family, you are busy with your work.
But what about them? They are free, they don’t have lots of work to do, as they already did at their young age…for you.
Take out a few minutes from your daily schedule and talk with them. Maybe take dinner together and share about your day, ask them about their health.
- Understanding – Technology has taken command on today’s generation. We are tech savvy but they are not. As they aren’t exposed to it.
During their young age, if these things were there, of course, they must have known more than us, right?
So, explain them, teach them, no matter if you have to repeat the same thing further. Let them experience this too.
Teach them how to operate mobile, how to operate an oven, how to cook on induction.
Remember these are the same persons who taught you how to walk, how to write, how to eat.
They also gave lots of their time and patience to teach you.
- Love – Parent’s love is a blessing, everyone knows that. Think about the children who didn’t experience that. So, we are far luckier in this case.
The love they have given you, they want some of that in their declining age. They don’t want your money, they just want love, few words of love, and pure humanity.
- Care – Children and old people are the same. They want your attention and care.
Look out for their daily needs for hygiene. Check out if they have enough stock of medicine. Check out if they are taking medicine properly.
Give them support for your hand while walking. Stick will not give that warmness of love and care, that your hand can give to them.
In your childhood, they didn’t give you a stick to walk on.
- Food – Digestion capacity decreases as age increases.
They will not be able to digest noodles, pizza, and pasta easily. Once in a while, they eat too for the sake of you. But frequent this kind of food lands them in bad health.
Give them home-cooked normal food, which helps them to be in good health.
- Health – After 40 only, you started complaining about your bad health, then what about them???
They are more than 60. They feel more pain than you.
Diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, bad memory, joint pain, vision problem, hearing problem, unable to control bladder movement are common in this age.
Accept them with all this. Remember, when you were sick these are the people, spend their day and night for you.
Yearly medical check-up, and visit to the doctor as per their requirement is not a big thing.
Take your parents along with you for dinner. Take them with you for a picnic. Choose places that are convenient for them.
Take home message is
THEY ARE YOUR PARENTS, TAKE CARE OF THEM AS THEY HAVE DONE FOR YOU.
THEY DON’T WANT YOUR MONEY. THEY JUST WANT YOUR LOVE AND CARE.
I hope you will understand them and take care of them.