Many who advocate living in a multi-faceted community embracing all age groups, brand life in a Retirement Home as dining-hall-centric. Rush to the dining hall before 7.45, 8.05, or 8.35 if you wish to join the first, second or the third batch for breakfast. Or, at other prescribed times for lunch and dinner. You meet the same people over and over again at all meeting points - the dining hall sit-out, the temple premises or the walking track. Discussions revolve mostly around the same topics: blood pressure, diabetes, knee pain, vertigo…
May be so. Regardless, as an incurable optimist, I would brush these off to the flip side, and focus on the brighter side. You see here a lot of the younger generation from far and near, be it a floating population, to meet their parents, parents-in-law, grandpa, grandma… for various reasons: to spend some time with them, to be by their side while convalescing from an illness, or to ensure they do observe ‘bed-rest’ to permit ribs to reset themselves after a mild fall…
Truth be told, waiting outside the dining hall these days I have watched nearly a third of those belonging to the younger generation. One couple has come with their two little children to help her mother (if the corridor news is correct) buy an apartment or get a berth. Another young man was sitting opposite me at the breakfast table. I asked him jocularly, ‘how come you qualify to be in a retirement home?’ “No uncle, my mother is to undergo knee replacement. I have come to help.” Then you see a young lady in her twenties moving with her resident grandma. Yes, she has come all the way from the US to be with her for a while. That explained, I felt, the extra glow we saw in grandma’s face.
It is here that we find It’s a Small World aptly applied. While waiting for lunch the other day, we bumped into our family friends of Sarvapriya Vihar, Delhi - Hariharan and Lakshmi. The next day we met Dr Jayaraman of Phoenix, a family friend of my son. Today we crossed shoulders with a new family and enquired if they had moved in recently. “Just today,” they replied. A few more minutes of chat, and we found that Gowri Manni (my sister in law) is his Periamma’s daughter.
Bottom line: Count your blessings.
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3 comments:
Wow. Indeed a small world. Lovely write-up. I will tell amma about your encounter. Do you recollect their names?
PS - for a moment, I thought the youngster sitting across you at breakfast might respond by saying he is indeed 60+ and that like Shahrukh Khan he also looks no more than 40 😊
Very true, sir. Many of us miss this point. I respect the love and dedication of these youngsters who have come to help their elders. At the same time, they respect the privacy of the seniors and do not have any issues with their choosing a retirement home.
T R Ranganath - Bl-1/G-3.
A good write up.
It is so natural that one feels like someone talking. A good writing indeed, keep it up Sundaram, enjoyed very much.
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