“Growing up”, “Adulting”, and “Being responsible”. There are many words that can describe the aging
process and what it entails. However, it isn’t truly understood until one experiences it for themselves.
Learning what being responsible truly means for you when keeping up with household chores and
completing your to-do list is essential for you to keep living your daily life. Or, realizing your body
can’t do what it used to. Whether it was being active 12 hours out of the day without aches and pains- or
even being able to enjoy an adult beverage without a killer headache the following day. There is a process that happens as we age, and there is also a grieving process that comes along with it,
that not a lot of people talk about or acknowledge.
I’ve taken notice of this grieving process as of late. In my day jobs, I’ve usually worked with different levels of youth stages: pediatrics, toddlers, grade school, puberty, and adolescent age groups. There is so much to be said about those age groups, and the experiences that happen during those
times. Lately, I’ve been working very closely with the geriatric population, 65+. I always like to say “There’s young, and then there’s younger!” Or “Wise” to describe these beautiful humans. There
is a lot to be discussed when it comes to this topic as well!
Getting back to the grieving process I mentioned earlier. This is something that truly needs more
attention for us to relate and connect with our wise population. In our western American society,
growing older is not honored or something a lot of people get excited about. Here are just a few
things that the wise population I have interacted with has expressed grief around:
+Trouble remembering if you
completed a daily task or
household chore
+Not being able to lift or carry
important items such as
groceries
+Less mobility
+Loneliness and missing being
around loved ones/feeling
forgotten
The last one hurts the most. I say all of that to say this: If it’s on your heart & resonates, reach out to one of your wise family members, neighbors, or friends. They will appreciate it more than you know!
