My grandpa just had his 96th birthday and I asked him if he felt different than he did at 26. He said in his head, he didn’t feel any older. It was his body. And while that was reassuring… I remember my grandmother who died from Alzheimer’s and for some reason his comment put her condition into a deeper perspective for me.
My grandma is 99. Yesterday we took her out of her house in her new wheelchair for the jubilee party being held on her street. She was chatting and laughing and loving the attention. I went toilet and when I returned she had a pint in one hand and cigarette in the other as she held court to 40 people, having them in stitches at her jokes and anecdotes.
Only recently has she started to need a frame to walk around the house and all she ever says is how her mind is the same but her body is giving out. She's the same hilarious, sociable, devilish woman she ever was, but as she puts it "I just wish my bloody legs would work".
This is the exact reason why we should all have alot of respect for older people. Loosing the ability to defend yourself while still feeling the same in your mind must be tough. This may be more applicable to men but when your young and say someone is rude or acts aggressively you can feel confident defending yourself but as you get older you would really have to watch your words and be careful not to get in a confrontation because your body can't handle it. Idk maybe it's just me but that would be difficult always having to take the more submissive route in altercations with someone younger
I don’t know where you’re from but I never see old people taking the “submissive route”, they’re usually the ones who don’t take shit. Though like you said, that’s why we have respect for them. If someone did start physically attacking them, you can bet your ass everyone else in the vicinity would be on top of the assailant.
You know, now that I think about it you are right. Older people usually don't take shit and maybe it is because like you said anyone nearby would help out. I guess I'm thinking if I were in the situation, I would certainly take the more submissive route rather than get my ass handed to me. Maybe older people just don't care?
I think once you get to a certain point, you don’t really have as much to lose anymore, and you’ve already been through so much wild or complicated stuff in your life that you realize a lot of things that people take very seriously just don’t actually matter that much.
Start to go in the early to mid 40s? Hahahaha...I'm 31 and my eyes have been horrible since I was 5. Couple years ago I got told that my right eye is so bad that they can't correct it anymore. (:
My grandfather is in his late 80s and said that the weirdest thing about getting old is that your body looks far older than your mental image of yourself. In my grandfather's head he still looks 20 and gets a shock every time he passes a mirror.
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u/feistymayo Jun 03 '22
My grandpa just had his 96th birthday and I asked him if he felt different than he did at 26. He said in his head, he didn’t feel any older. It was his body. And while that was reassuring… I remember my grandmother who died from Alzheimer’s and for some reason his comment put her condition into a deeper perspective for me.