Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.
-Proverbs 16:31
I never had the opportunity to meet my grandfathers.
Both my grandmothers are ill and fragile, one has dementia and the other Alzheimer’s.
My grandmothers don’t know exactly how old they, because they didn’t keep very good records in the 1920s. However, they are probably in their early 90s.
They both lived through the Japanese Imperialism, World War 2, and the Korean War.
Very resilient women.
It is thanks to them that I exist. To be frank, that’s the limit of my respect and gratitude. It bothers me that I cannot get myself to be more grateful for them.
Its challenging to communicate with them. The language, culture, generations, and especially their state of minds.
Without communication its impossible to build a relationship.
I had the opportunity to nurse my grandmother (Dad’s side) this past weekend.
The time with my grandma gave me time to reflect.
What is family? – I don’t know, but I want to find out. Since my relationship within my family needs a lot of work. I default to the only reliable truth I can come to- The Bible. I’ll research this topic more thoroughly for another day.
What is my role as a son, grandson, and brother? – Again, I don’t know. No one told me. I don’t even know where to begin. Again to the Bible.
What can I do to help my grandmother? I helped her wherever I could, getting her food, helping her to the bathroom, and making sure she took her pills. But I didn’t have a happy heart- an indicator that I need to change something.
Why can’t I think of anything positive about her? Honestly, I couldn’t think of one good memory. Bunch of weird ones, but never anything positive.
What do I want to do differently? This is something I’m going to be meditating and praying about a lot.
My tentative thoughts are that old people should be respected and loved. Its hard for me to do, especially when I have no relationship and a lack of good memories.
I see in my church, when the whole family is committed to Christ, I’ve seen some amazing relationships. I only hope that I can provide that for my daughter.
If you read to the end. I’d like to know what your thoughts are on old people and maybe you could share a sentence or two on your relationship with your grandparents.
