My oldest sister would have been 75 years old today. She chose to die on 30 December 2024, rather than battling leukaemia. We went to see her, and she was happy, and laughing, and saying her goodbyes to everyone. She died on her own terms, and faced death with a smile. How many of us could do the same?
elders family thoughtsI went to mum’s to pick up food (thank you, mum!) just to find them watching their favourite YouTube channel. After telling me that they didn’t care about politics, that they were fed up with it, that’s exactly what I found them doing. And not just any politics!
Just like when Catholic priests read the Vulgate, and explained God’s word—according to their interpretation—to their faithful, mum and dad listen to old Vietnamese men analyse and explain current political events using Fox News, and One America Network (conservative and far-right), as their source. Great, just great, isn’t it? 🤬
elders family politicsToday is Kathleen’s birthday. For reasons that escape my mind, I didn’t have it on my calendar. That didn’t stopped us from getting her cupcakes, and a birthday card. Because, you know, you are not 77 years old everyday, and because, as she said, “it is great to be 77 and still have my marbles”. She sure does!
birthdays elders humansSo hard to explain politics, or, at the very least, advice they form their own opinions, and not let others on the YouTube shows they watch do it for them, to our elders! They simply don’t want to listen. Instead they say some non-sense, and without letting you engage further they say “But that’s OK, let’s not talk about that!” Infuriating. Will I be like them when—and if—I grow older? I sure hope not!
elders family politicsWe came to see bố today, just like we do every weekend. It is a less than an hour visit, just to bring him some food, check on him, and tidy up his space. I also checked on Kathleen and Roxanne. Kathleen thanked us for the madeleines we left by her bedside last weekend (I was waiting for her, but she was taking an eternity in the bathroom, so I had leave). Roxanne was in the day room, being amused by the bunch of other elderly folks who get together on weekends to read, play dominoes, and otherwise engage in all sorts of tomfooleries. 🤭
I also went to visit a newly “adopted” resident. She is an elderly Vietnamese lady, who seems not to have much family around. The last two times Horsie and I passed by to see her she didn’t mutter a word. Today I brought her a madeleine, and she said “Cảm ơn”. Baby steps.
elders family horsie lifeFamily elders engaged in petty fighting and family drama is so annoying! First because they do it; second because, as they are elders, there is no much I can do about it. We all have emotions, and make mistakes, and surely can get mad to each other. Now, holding grudges for as long as our elders do isn’t healthy.
elders familyKathleen and Roxanne are the residents across the hall from Dad’s room. Unlike Dad and Roxanne, who have family coming to see them, Kathleen is all alone. She spends all her days inside her room—well, she strolls around in her wheelchair but never ventures outside the building—all by herself.
For that reason alone, we have “adopted” her. We can’t take her outside but, when we visit bố, I spend time conversing with her. We buy her cupcakes—we deliver a bunch of those to others, but she gets hers without fail. She likes popcorn and Diet Coke, so she gets them too. This year we celebrated her birthday—hat, card, cake, and singing—which she said hadn’t happened for a long time. It made us sad but happy to be able to do it.
birthdays elders humans