What I Learned By Laughing With My Grandma

When I was young chap my grandma, now 94 years of age, taught me how treat others. She did not do so by telling me what was right or wrong, but rather by observing how she interacted with people of all ages. She would speak to and carry on with individuals the same way no matter what their age happened to be. Best of all she would make people laugh either along with her, or at something funny she had done. She utilized that laughter in almost all situations in her life.

Of course, when things went well it came easy for her but when things were not so great she would still use it as well. It aided her in keep on going and moving forward. When I looked at her care for my grandpa for over two years in their house, when he was in his last stage of cancer, every single day she would make him laugh. She never treated him as if he was sick. She took good care of every need he possessed, but she did it in a nice way that maintained his dignity, in a way that made him feel as if although he could not do the things he once used to, he was still the man she loved. 

She would never fuss or feel sorry for herself. To me she always appeared to just take it one day at a time and have trust that everything would be alright. If something had broken or someone made a mess she would tackle it directly, with jokes, and just handle it. There was no embarrassment or ignominy; it happened, take care of it and move on.

When we get older our hair turns grey, our skin gets wrinkled, body starts to sag, and we don't stand as tall as we used to. However the people around us do not remember that our elders still find pleasure in all the things that they used to but most of all they still enjoy laughing. Nowadays, when life is so hectic many youngsters forget to appreciate our elders. People tend to forget that the grey haired, wrinkled and slow individual in front of them used to be a young vibrant person just like they are.

Recently, I was in line at the grocery store and there were two individuals ahead of me one was an elderly person, maybe 70, and the other was about 30+. The impatience that this younger individual had with this senior citizen was unbearable for me to look at. Talking under his breath, sighing continuously and his inability to have any patience at whatsoever. Yes, I understand that she was moving slowly but she was managing just fine. The disrespect that this guy had for this elderly lady is unbelievable to me. I wanted to tell him that one day, if you are fortunate enough to live to that age, that could jolly well be you standing there in line.

Why do we treat our senior citizens in this way? Aging is a normal part of life for all of us. Our seniors hold so much valuable insight and wisdom for our younger generation and yet we never seem to take the time to listen to them, play with them or laugh with them. I feel very fortunate that I work in an environment whereby I am surrounded by elders. Everyday it is obvious to me that just because they are old they have absolutely not stopped living their lives. Isn't that all we really wish for at any age to keep living a life full of respect, experiences, friends, family and of course laughter...?

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