imagine you are 87. you live in an assisted living home. at christmastime you long for a loved one's visit to share a meal and exchange gifts, but those are the aches of memories past. you have no family to speak of.
I know this sounds like a very sappy phone commercial and the overture is melancholy..... the truth is this is the reality of many elderly, especially at the holiday season.
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. james 1:27
this christmas eve I sat in the assisted living foyer as my youngest napped in my arms. my husband, 2 sons, and neighbor friend visited the rooms with small token gifts to spread cheer and care for those who are invalid. as I sat there I visited with those around me and observed the comers and goers (aka the walkers and the motorized scooters).
one gal, in her 80's, who had probably suffered a stroke at one point, was approached by an employee with a flower arrangement. the employee began to read the attached note. as the employee read the note tears welled up in the gal's eyes. she tried to fight the tiny pools collecting in her eyes by smiling. I couldn't help but wonder if she was teary because she was so touched by the gift or because she rather see her family than receive a flower arrangement. I couldn't help but think it was the latter.
sitting next to me was a capable fellow. he was dressed in attire that was similar to 1994's casual friday... tan dockers, pressed striped dress shirt, braided leather belt. we struck up some chit chat and I found out his wife had passed about 8 years ago. being from north dakota, the few of his remaining, aging family was there. back in his day he had come out here for the airline biz and lost touch with most of his family members. now his christmas consists of waiting in the foyer for the home's christmas buffet. after sitting and visiting with me for quite some time he still had another hour before the buffet opened. I want to adopt that grandpa. I am convinced he needs a regular trip to the park with a toddler or a home cooked turkey feast. he'd be an awesome grandpa....I don't even know if he had ever had the opportunity to be one at all....
my hope is this....
I hope to give perspective of something beyond the average scope of daily life and season celebrations.
I hope that others will go buy holiday token gifts at bargain prices and save them for a visit to a home for the elderly.
I hope that we're all in the understanding that we're all susceptible to these circumstances.... illness, debilitation, loneliness, old age.
I hope this reminds us of all we do have and dissolves the cares of what we don't have.
keep it real & nice. happy new year.
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