â˜Žï¸ Our friends’ 95 year old Mother & I speak every now & then over the telephone. Yesterday I spent 30 minutes, mostly listening to her. It’s often not an easy listen, as at 95 she has much physical
diminishment (impaired hearing, eyesight, mobility) & almost every call includes her sharing that she does not want to live anymore. She’s luckier than many in that she lives with her children in a nice home and has a very kind, attentive aide who comes to help her a few days a week, but nonetheless, little joy it seems.
Sometimes I struggle to stay on the phone so long with her, but yesterday I just went with it, letting her talk as long as she needed to and offering myself with patient presence. Sometimes I can get her to laugh.
She needs to be heard. I have 2 ears :)
diminishment (impaired hearing, eyesight, mobility) & almost every call includes her sharing that she does not want to live anymore. She’s luckier than many in that she lives with her children in a nice home and has a very kind, attentive aide who comes to help her a few days a week, but nonetheless, little joy it seems.Sometimes I struggle to stay on the phone so long with her, but yesterday I just went with it, letting her talk as long as she needed to and offering myself with patient presence. Sometimes I can get her to laugh.
She needs to be heard. I have 2 ears :)
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- Posted by Mish
- Sep 9, 2020
- Comments (4)
Readers Comments
mindyjourney wrote: 2 ears and a beautiful loving â¤ï¸. Thank you 👸ðŸ».
Khokha wrote: Offering patient presence: the language of the heart. Thank you, Mish
fairykats wrote: (((((((((((((((((Mish)))))))))))))))))))))))
DANCE wrote: Very loving of you to talk to her and listen...
