Friday, November 23, 2012

Not afraid to grow old....

Are you afraid to live too long in life? I used to ask many old age friends, around the sixties and above this scary question, and their answers are... "Yes!" Meaning, they wished not to live too long because they are afraid to be a nuisance to their family, when their health might be a big problem. 

I have two distanced relatives, I so called them as uncle. Both passed their age of 90 and above. Their wives had passed away few years ago. When they were around, husband and wife would quarrel all the time but now that the wives had gone, they wish the women could still be around. Reason... They have no one to talk to. Though both men are healthy and have no serious illness, they are lonesome in mind and soul. At their age, all their good friends had left this world. Those days, these senior citizens might group together to chat or to play mahjong to pass time happily. As time passed, these old folks got sick and unable to move. Later they just disappeared, leaving this single old man alone. Each day these two uncles have to wait for their sons to come home to accompany them. Otherwise without their sons, they practically have no one to talk to. The grand children are afraid of them, the daughter in laws do not know how to communicate with these stubborn old men and the sons are busy with their businesses. So at the end, they live in a lonely world without friend or families. They wish to die sooner and yet they can't. So to live too long in life could be a suffering!

What about me? No! I am not afraid at all, I am looking forward to reach 85 and see the glamour out of me then. To overcome boredom and lonesome, one must have a lot of good friends besides his family members. Today I have friends ranging from 85 years old to 15 years young. In fact I have more younger friends below my age, rather than those older than me. In 20 years time, all my friends would also be older by 20 years. The one who is 15 today will be 35 then, and I would make sure he or she would still be my good friends. So! If non of my sons are interested to talk to me in twenty years later, I rest assure there are enough younger people to stay around with me at that time. The secret of mixing with younger people is to lower my pride and self esteem. Speak to them like a brother if they are male and talk to the girls like they are all your dears, honeys or darlings. With all these younger people, how could I be getting old. No way! Thus, I am not the least be scared to live up to 100. 

So true - "Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art" 
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

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