Stories Matching 'Elderly' Tag (117 matches)

A Chance Encounter And a Priceless Lesson

Last weekend, I was walking across the village green when I saw an elderly gentleman on the bench, just  overlooking the duck pond.  I thought he looked abit forlorn so I went over and sat next to him. After a few comments about how nice the weather was and how there were alot of ducks in the pond today , he told me how he used to come with his wife and watch the children feed the ducks with their mums.  They didn't have any children of their own. He explained he had been married for 54 years when his wife died and how much he missed sharing all the little things with her.   Like a beautiful sunset .  He now lives in a care home.  I remarked at how wonderful it must've been to have been married for so long and to have so many happy memories.  He took out a large ... Read Full Story >>

87 Year Old Woman Named Rose

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..." "No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told ... Read Full Story >>

I Wish You Enough

At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane's departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, "I love you, I wish you enough." She said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy." They kissed good-bye and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?" "Yes, I have," I replied. Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took ... Read Full Story >>

A Wallet of an Old Man

There I was, a sole-parent, walking down the street. The week had been hard and today was full with bill paying and running errangs. As I walked the street, with my head down deep in thought, I noticed something unusual in the gutter. Moving towards the object, I realised it was a wallet. I picked it up and immediately looked up and around for the first time that day. The street was bare with only one shop -- Guidedogs for the Blind.  Standing there, my first thought was that perhaps someone would return to claim the wallet.  But after a while, I realized I needed to be proactive.  I opened the wallet to find a name or some identification.  While looking through it, I noticed something like $400, all neatly stacked in fifty dollar notes!   I eventually found a name but no phone number or address.   My only clue was ... Read Full Story >>

Advice From An Old Man

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and face shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. "I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." "That doesn' t have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't ... Read Full Story >>

5 Love Notes To My Grand-mother

I was just in France to visit my grand-mother who is very dear to me. I don’t get to cross the Atlantic very often, and she’s now 96 year old, so every time I go visit, the two of us are very aware that it might be the last time we see each other. Last time I visited her in December of 2004, I did a series of short video interviews about her life. I asked her what it was like to grow up with her father in the 1910s (her mother died during labor), to live through the German occupation alone with two young children with a husband away in a prisoners' camp in Germany. I asked her about her greatest memories and life learnings so far, her favorite books, foods, stories. I also asked her about her spirituality and her thoughts about death. I learned a lot of amazing ... Read Full Story >>

An Unforgettable Fishing Experience

Several years ago, I worked for a trucking outfit as a driver. It was my habit to go in on Saturday and spend a couple hours maintaining my truck. As I was under the truck greasing it, I noticed the owner's elderly father making his way over to his grandson's truck next to mine.  The old man was in his high eighties, had been an avid fisherman all his life, and had come out to ask the kid to take him fishing after work. The grandson told him all about how much he would love to do that, but, he just couldn't that day due to prior commitments. The old man accepted the answer and hobbled off to the house. A few minutes later, the father came out and asked his son what the old man had wanted. After telling the story, the kid ended it with telling his dad, ... Read Full Story >>

Mystery Muffin Giver

What would it be this morning -- a warm Blueberry Lemon?  Banana Nut? Cranberry Orange? Oatmeal Raisin? There is always a warm muffin or two tucked into a white napkin and placed next to the morning newspaper, waiting for me once I open my front door. Who is the Mystery Muffin Giver? I try to wake up early to see if I can catch him/her in the act so far I've been unsuccessful.  But no matter what, I've got those goodies and a good read to dwell on! [Now for the background story!] My Mom lives in a Retirement community and she moved in after my Dad passed.  She loves it.  Most of her neighbors in the apartments are widows just like her and they keep each other good company.  In this community, though, while lunches and dinners are prepared in the dining room, there's no breakfast. Now, my mom is an early -- and ... Read Full Story >>

A Flashlight From An Old Man

I recently went to a restaurant to buy a pie for a party.  As I walked up the steps and opened the door, I saw a hunched-over old man with a cane walking toward me carrying a handled bag full of things he had just purchased there.  I stepped back and opened the door widely so that he could pass through easily.  As he did so, he stopped and said to me, "Wait!"   He set down the bag, reached into one of his pants pockets, and retrieved a tiny plastic keychain flashlight still in its original plastic wrapping.  He handed it to me and said, "Take this.  I like to give things to people who have done something for me."  I thanked him and told him he was very welcome.  I was almost speechless as I watched this old man walk off to his car.  I added his token to ... Read Full Story >>

Happy Birthday And A Gold Coin

While eating lunch with my 4 year old daughter this afternoon at a fast food restaurant, i noticed an old man walking to the table with a cane. The manager kindly carried his food for him. During the meal I overheard the man tell a woman it was his birthday. So I whispered what I heard to my daughter. She loves when people have birthdays. I told her it was ok for her to wish him a happy birthday. He obviously was spending this special day alone. At first she was shy and decided against it. No problem. As I was emptying our tray into the trash she turned to him and quietly wished him a Happy Birthday.  I could tell he was touched by the way he looked at her. I came up behind her and gave him my own wishes. He was grateful. As we walked away he called my daughter back ... Read Full Story >>

Few Bills Under A Paper Napkin

He almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help.  So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out.  His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried.  No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her?  He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold.  He knew how she felt.  It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am.  Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm?  By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson." Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old ... Read Full Story >>

You Never Know

I have a dear friend Joni, who is one of those people who lights up a room when she enters.  She is an extremely warm and welcoming individual, who makes you feel good about yourself.  Over the past few years Joni has dealt with much, including family illness and death, and throughout it all she has maintained a presence of joy that has been remarkable. Recently she was contemplating whether or not to continue a weekly visit/group she conducted at a nursing home.  Each week she would bring an activity  to share with the residents.  This was the nursing home where her mother had been  and Joni had grown quite fond of the other residents there.  But Joni's schedule is so full, she felt the need to make some changes, and thought she might discontinue her work at the nursing home for a while. As she was wrestling with her decision she kept ... Read Full Story >>

Jacqui's Ring of Generosity

During one particular hospital stay in November 2006, I met an incredible lady, who I will always remember. Her kindness, and big heart, touched me in a life changing way. I was lying in bed in my room, gazing mindlessly at the bustling people pacing past my door in the corridor. I quite enjoyed this. I’d see all sorts of people; elderly patients walking slowly but intently, their eyes focused on the ground that their feet would soon walk over; frazzled nurse’s striding past clutching their paperwork, cheerful bubbly children. Quite often some one would cast a glance my way and smile, but no one ever came in. However, this one afternoon, a patient who was heading back to her room next door to me, caught my eye and stopped. She came to my door and smiled. I greeted her with a friendly smile and she came in. She sat by my ... Read Full Story >>

A Twenty In His Hands

This past weekend my daughter and I were at a grocery store shopping for some goodies in preparation for visiting my mom and grandmother.

As we were standing at rack trying to decide what to get, I looked up an saw an elderly gentleman pick up a tomato  and weigh it. He then began counting coins in his hand to see if he had enough.

My daughter and I both looked at each other.  We understood and smiled.  She said, "How much?"  I said, "Um, about 20?"  She agreed, so I pulled out a $20 bill,  walked over put in the gentleman's hand and closed his fingers. 

He looked at me astonished and speechless, as his eyes began to water. 

I looked him and gently said, "Enjoy.  And have a pie on us."

We picked up our shopping goodies, left the store with big smiles, and felt blessed to have run into that old man.

Once Blessed, Blessed Forever

On Friday afternoon, when I would arrive at my grandfather's house after school the tea would be already set on the kitchen table. My grandfather had his own way of serving tea. There were no tea cups and saucers or bowls of granulated sugar or honey. Instead he would pour the tea directly from the silver samovar into a drinking glass. There had to be a teaspoon in the glass first otherwise the glass, being thin, might break. My grandfather did not drink his tea in the same way that the parents of my friends did either. He would put a cube of sugar between his teeth and then drink the hot tea straight from his glass. So would I. I much preferred drinking tea this way to the way I had to drink tea at home. If it was Friday, after we had finished our tea my grandfather would set two ... Read Full Story >>

An Unexpected Light

"As I waited at a busy intersection in our city  for the red light to change to green,  I glanced left; seeing an elderly man groping about on the curb. He had fallen off of his motorized cart which had lurched a few yards ahead of him, and was crawling off the sidewalk onto the road to pick up his front basket ( which was now in the path of oncoming traffic). Without a second thought, I rushed over to help him to his feet, and although unsteady and shaken, I was able to walk him to his cart, and help him back onto the seat and reattach his basket. As he glanced up at me, he smiled and said, “Thank you.” I made sure that he was OK to continue on and then I returned to my car, which I had left at the intersection. Nobody was honking. They just stared at me. ... Read Full Story >>

Love "Seen"

I had a friend that every time you walked in her door for a visit, her greeting was "Hi Honey".  She had a way of saying it by dragging it out as she said it, that made me feel like she was so glad to see me.  We met several years ago when her husband was admitted to our Hospice program.  I got in on that admission as I was on call the Saturday he was admitted.  We hit it off right away, and my friendship with her continued even after her husband died. We visited together once or twice a week, never for very long, but always with sincere joy in one another's presence.  She had told me that when she got ready for Hospice care, she would let me know and we could admit her.  Sure enough, one day she told me it was time.  We continued to have ... Read Full Story >>

Thanks For Rocking With Me!

There was once an elderly, despondent woman in a nursing home. She wouldn't speak to anyone or request anything. She merely existed - rocking in her creaky old rocking chair.

The old woman didn't have many visitors. But every couple mornings, a concerned and wise young nurse would go into her room. She didn't try to speak or ask questions of the old lady. She simply pulled up another rocking chair beside the old woman and rocked with her.

Weeks or months later, the old woman finally spoke.

'Thank you,' she said. 'Thank you for rocking with me.'"

How Much Are You Short?

A few weeks ago I walked into a Zenex Garage to buy some milk. When I turned around after taking milk out the fridge I saw an elderly man standing behind me with a small packet of mielie pap, a small bottle of Savlon, a small bottle of milk and a half loaf of bread. He was trying to hold everything and at the same time was counting his coins in his very shaky, bruised, cut hands. I walked up to him and asked him how much he was short.  Stunned, he could not even talk.  Almost apologetically, he told me he had not recieved his pension money yet and needed a few small things for his family(himself, his wife and two kids) for a week while he waited for his pension to come in. He did not know which of the items were most important to take but he clearly could ... Read Full Story >>

The First Earning Of My Life

I'm doing a work-experience internship at a hairdressing salon, and I noticed the other day that an old woman who had came in to get her hair permed, was sitting at the back of the shop and was looking rather sad.

So, naturally, I went over there and struck up a conversation with her. It turns out that she had just came out of hospital after weeks of treatment because she had a bad heart; to make matters worse, her daughter had recently given birth to a premature baby.

I sat and listened to her the whole time she was there, comforted her and just gave her words of advice and my philosophies. When she was finally ready to leave, she said,'You've made my day, duck. It's people like you I'll never forget.'

She tipped me one pound.

And that was the first money that I had earned in my life.

Shopping Cart Outside A Car Door

A few weeks ago, I went to my usual retail therapy session at the local Target store. On my way to the front door, I noticed that there was a car parked by the front doors facing the wrong direction but with the passenger door open.  A woman came out of the driver side and waited by the passenger door, and out came a frail little old lady walking very slowly and using the shopping cart as as walker.  As she got closer to the passenger door, the driver took her by the hand to help her in the car and then I noticed that she had this look of uneasiness looking at the cart as if thinking, "Oh great, now what do I do with this?"  She had to put the lady in the car, drop off the cart in its place, go to the other side of her car, drive out ... Read Full Story >>

A 'Grave' Situation

On my way into the city of Orillia today, the sun was shining bright.  It was a very hot, gorgeous day.  For me, it wasn't a very easy morning, but everything was falling into place and I felt good. Just then, I noticed some peculiar activity in a small graveyard just off the road.  As I got closer, I noticed that an elderly man was attempting to pick something up.  With a car parked on the small laneway in the graveyard, he was crouching beside one of the gravestones.  Upon closer inspection, it was clear that he was sobbing. After all that had gone on so far in my day, it was time to give something back.  I pulled into the small graveyard behind the lone car that was parked.  As I approached the fellow, I called out to ask if everything was ok. I noticed then what the fellow was trying to ... Read Full Story >>

Beautiful Music To My Ears

My husband and I recently made a visit to see his mother, Gladys, who is in a nursing home with Alzheimer's.  I don't know a whole lot about this terrible disease but I am learning how quickly it can take over the memory.

We traveled many miles to visit Gladys and she was glad to see us but within just a few minutes, she even forgot that we were there!

My husband spotted a piano on the other side of the room and walked over to it and began to play a piece he had written many years ago hoping his mother would somehow recognize it.

I wish I could end this story saying she did but Gladys just contnued to eat her lunch.

The music was so beautiful!  Even I had a hard time believing that it was my own husband playing it.  Other people came out of their offices to watch him and one resident even remarked that she wished he would continue playing for a bit longer.

In the deepest of my hearts, I like to believe that Gladys heard the music.  I felt so proud of my husband.

Next Generation of Kindness

I was with my kids at the grocery store.  They are 3 and 5.

We were doing our grocery shopping, when we saw a 75-80 year old lady in one of those motorized scooters, doing her shopping.  We saw that she was unable to reach something, so I reached it for her and she said, "Thank you."

The old lady also mentioned there were other things she was unable to get because she was confined to her scooter.   So my 5 year old son spontaneously tells her, "Oh, we can help you get the rest of your groceries." 

And we did.  We went through the whole store with her, until she had all that she needed.  When we finished, the woman blessed us and told me that it was nice to see that little ones still have manners. 

As we finished our own grocery shopping, I felt so very proud to know my children will not be selfish people.

Dust In The Wind

It happened so suddenly.  She said she wasn’t feeling well, so she took a shower, drank some tea, and went for a nap just before dinner.  By 5PM, she had passed away. “That’s insane. I just saw Sushila Auntie last week. She’s fine. I mean, she’s my mom’s age. There must be some sort of mistake,” I thought to myself. No mistake, unfortunately. Sitting in the living room at Narayan Uncle’s house to pay our condolences for the passing of his wife, the thoughts in my head wouldn’t stop.   That’s my Narayan Uncle sitting there. He’s been around forever.   And next to him would always be Sushila Auntie.  I just saw her last week. All I gave her was a perfunctory, “Hi”.   Why?  Because she was always there. Yet, there is so much more to the being “there” than one realizes, because once that’s gone, things seem strange and askew. I knew nothing ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Karma on a Hot Summer Day

It is so often true that "what goes around, comes around," and that life lessons often walk in through the most unexpected doors. One hot summer, several years ago, my son and I were taking a trip by train. But first we had to take a bus into the city to the station to catch the train. I was a single Mom and as usual, since times were hard and money was very tight, we simply could not afford any extras. So we packed a large lunch bag of snacks and sandwiches, and had a small cooler filled with sodas to get us through the trip. We were still many miles from the train station, out in the middle of nowhere, when the bus suddenly completely broke down. The poor driver was mortified, and after calling ahead to the station, assured us, apologizing over and over, that they were sending another bus to rescue us. We ... Read Full Story >>

Two Women Who Taught Me Kindness

This is a story about a wonderful little snippet of life I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in. I write about it here, not to toot my own horn, but to give others an idea of how easy it is to perform a simple random act of kindness, and what a positive effect it can have. I was standing in line at our local Wal-Mart with one item in my hand at the express lance check out. The lady in front of me was a fragile looking senior citizen. Since I had been widowed fairly recently, and was still walking around in that pervasive fog that is a combination of ennui and sadness, I was so self-absorbed in my own little world of gloom that it wasn't really registering in my brain that the little old lady was having trouble getting her items out of her shopping cart ... Read Full Story >>

Cereal For the Soul

A sweet and charming little old lady came up to me at the supermarket about 5 months ago.  She had strict orders from her doctor to avoid artificial ingredients, but she couldn't read the ingredients on the cereal box and was asking me for some help. "No problem," I instantly said.   I picked up the box and indeed, it's a shame that the print was so small that even I had to struggle to read it.  It turned out that it did have artificial ingredients.  With a slightly dejected face, she explained, "I'm struggling to have a decent breakfast in the mornings, because although I love porridge, I don't have enough energy to make it myself.  So I need to find something instant that doesn't have artificial ingredients." Just then, I had an idea.  "Well, I make my own muesli out of natural products and if you could give me you address, I ... Read Full Story >>

Seeing the Same Stranger Twice

It was a freezing cold winter day. During a late night run to the grocery store, I saw an old man slip on some ice.   An ambulance came but the man didn't want to go to the hospital (perhaps due to insurance reasons). I saw the old man starting to walk home. Feeling sorry for his condition, not even knowing who he was, I offered him a ride home.  On our way, he wanted to stop by a bar for some silly reason, so I obliged; he said he'd only be a second, but I waited nearly 15 minutes.  Still, I continued taking him home.  When we arrived at his house, about 10 minutes later, the man offered me some money, but I refused event though it was a ways out of my way. Thinking I would never see this man again, I went on home and went on with my life. Well, ... Read Full Story >>

Grandfather's Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about father," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor." So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When ... Read Full Story >>