Day by day we're getting older.
Bit by bit our bodies deteriorate...
It's not only true for human beings, it's the truth for all mammals.
As babies, people are the most helpless creatures of mammals. But babies, puppies, kittens, cubs,... all need their mothers to bring them up, give them the nutrition they need and basically just to love them.
Lately I've seen the other side of things. I have an old dog at home and a grandma in a nursing home. My Grandma couldn't be happier where she is, but what she's saying or doing just doesn't make any sense anymore. I love her to bits, but Alzheimer's got the best of her now. She's no longer the strong woman I looked up to when I was a kid (actually still do). She was such a powerful soul. She raised three daughters on her own. All three turned out to be wonderful people and mothers as well. Soon after daughter number 3 was out of the house, she met her husband. He's a wonderful man and took care of her in their home for as long as he could. Until last year, when it got too much for him to bear. He felt like admitting defeat at the time, but he realizes now that my grandma is better off in the nursing home. Where amazing people provide care 24/7.
My Grandma is 79 years old. She's not always up to speed with what's happening around her, but when we walk in the room to visit her, her face lights up. She will not say our names, but she knows we're 'her people'.
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| My grandma and me |
My first example of what getting older means and does to us.
At the beginning of this article I told you I have an old dog at home as well. She's an almost-9-year-old Newfoundland dog. She's getting slower. It seems like she's not always there when you're calling her name. Just when you get very close to her, she'll notice you were calling her. Lately she's had quite a bit of health issues: an urgent hysterectomy at the beginning of the year, diarrhea, hot spots,...
Recently she's had episodes of bleeding in her mouth. We thought at first she and her daughter had bumped into each other, but now we noticed she gets bleedings every time she eats.
We decided to make the food a little softer to chew by adding some soup or water to it. Just like you do with little puppies that start to eat chunks. It seems as if this is working so far. The vet didn't find any wounds in her mouth, so we think it'll be her teeth that can no longer chew hard chunks. We'll try this as long as possible just so she will eat.
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| Mona and me |
Getting older is also getting wiser. From day to day experiences we learn something new every day.
I think below quote is quite accurate...
George Michael - Older (via Youtube)
Remember to keep caring for older people and animals. Your reward is their eternal love.
Hugs,
Xana
