What follows is an excerpt from my latest writing entitled "It's You Wait, Someone Will Come”. This is a satire about my life in an old folks home. This book can be purchased from the author by sending a check or money order To Jack Funk 1212 Osler St.Saskatoon Saskatchewan, for $15 which includes postage. This applies only to orders in Canada.
The Challenge on Growing Old
Judging from the ages of the people celebrating birthdays at Interim Manor, anyone at the age 60 is a youngster. We have monthly birthday parties when the ages of the celebrants are announced. "Mary is 94 years young!" Most of the people here are over 75. The median age is probably in the 80s. This means that the span of our lives has changed greatly over the last few decades. The period between 50 and 90, is when we kick the bucket, the time we walk that Final Mile. This is a time when we stroll along, smell the roses and listen to the birds (these are good things). At the same time, we have to be cognizant that this stroll is a big part of our life. It offers us the opportunity and the challenge of doing something different and meaningful. This should be a most exciting time, filled with new learning, new opportunities and new possibilities. Aging is when we can enjoy the beauty, the wisdom, the experience that is part and parcel of growing old.
We all know about Grandma Moses -- painting at 101, Kenny Rogers -- singing at over 70, Father Andrew Greeley -- priest/novelist /columnist at 80, Burt Bacharach -- composing at 80, Mary Higgins -- novelist at 81, Joe Paterno -- football coach at 82, Julia Child still cooking at 90, and my brother-in-law still flying his own airplane at 92. The list goes on. A lot of people don't share in this kind of experience because our culture and institutions don’t expect this kind of activity from old people. This is the stuff on which the media feeds. This ain't what old folk are expected to do. Old people are just supposed to sit around, wait, then wait some more and finally, die. We, who are old and frail, are at a decision point, just as it was a decision point when we moved from one stage of our lives to the next -- child to teenager, teenager to young adult, single to parent and so forth. At each transition, we had to make a decision, a decision between progress, stagnation or regression. These decision points in our lives are the times when creativity is/was demanded as to how to use our energies.
Now, once more we have to decide: are we going to serve, teach, mentor, innovate, give something to society, leave a legacy, or will we stagnate saying to the world, "I'm going to stay right here, I’ve done enough, I have given up, my life is over”.
The challenge for a senior care home is to plan a program which will not allow people to stagnate. Such a program sees old people as people with value, not an obligation. They are an asset.
Six Elevators - http://www.jackfunk.com/article.php?story=20091020144118756