The innocence of old age...
“The Little Boy and the Old Man"
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
I know what you mean," said the little old man.”
- Shel Silverstein
Well...I just happened to read these words in an article somewhere, and I was struck by the beautiful meaning these words brought to me. Old people and little children are somewhere on the same way in life's paths. The difference is that old people have memories in which they're buried for years together, with no one to listen to them. I have often been struck by the similarities between the both of them. All they both want is a little bit of our time, and that's not asking for a lot, is it?
Oldies are as stubborn as kids when they set their mind on something. Of course, the mature adults cannot fathom the erratic reasons behind these or the way in which these needs will be fulfilled.
I have a grandmother who has seen a lot of hardships in her life, when she got married. However, all of this only made her stronger. She is the perfect example of "When life throws lemons at you, make lemonade". Today when I look at her, she's never too tired to give a hand in any kind of work, and will you believe it, she's almost 85!
All she has now is beautiful memories in which she saw hardships, sorrows but she still thinks of it as something that taught her a lot. Nevertheless to say, she is also a very stubborn person and often makes me feel that she is a child. She loves to talk, and always tells me stories about my dad's mischeifs when he was a kid. (These stories are pretty funny to hear, considering my dad's strict nature now) She has stories to offer about the pre independence era, of her time when she was of my age, of the value of money at that time and now...it feels so good to hear about it.. and I love listening to her when she speaks of it...
My maternal grandmother is my favourite of all. She has also, in a similar fashion, seen, watched and experienced a lot of things. I chat with her more comfortably than I can sometimes with my own mom. When I visit her, its almost like catching up with old friends, and may it be any topic, her advices always make me feel good about myself. She is as vivacious and bubbly as a child and her entire life revolves around all of us.
I was once with a friend of mine, sitting and chatting at our favourite haunt. There came an old man, and he sat on exactly the same bench we were sitting on. We made to get up and go somewhere else, lest he feel awkward with a guy and a girl.
But he said to us, " If you two get up from here and go, I will not sit here."
Feeling sheepish, we both sat down again. He then started chatting with us for a long time, and mind you it wasn't boring...it was illuminating. Of how simple life was back then, how innocence was rooted into every good deed. From his stories, he told us, that he still misses his wife...who died of cancer a couple of years back, he loves his grandchildren to bits. But he is not really happy being with his family, he cannot really talk openly with them and that is why he comes out and sits on this bench to talk to strangers. He really has pearls of wisdom to offer, and yet no one to hear them!
This could perhaps also be the reason why grandparents love their grandchildren so much. They understand why these little ones require our attention all the time and why they sometimes feel neglected due to the limited amount of time spent with them.
As a kid, I personally felt that I wanted to grow up as soon as I could. Now however I feel otherwise, but back then it felt like such a great thing to be finally be able to voice my opinions and not be made fun of. Not that I was ridiculed, but I at times felt that I did not get the answers to all the questions that I wanted.
Alas, kids nowadays have information at the tips of their fingers, but I did not. That innocence is nowhere to linger and watch.
But, I have made a point here! And that is that, no matter how much we try, we still have a kid inside all of us. But we often forget that fact when we're adults and are burdened by the pressures of work, money, family etc. As adults, we should all try to not forget that our kids look up to us for everything and love us to bits. Not to mention, we should never neglect our own parents who are old now, because they're the ones who treated us with such care and devotion to really live and experience all the wonders that life has to offer..
Thats all for today.... Ciao :-)
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
I know what you mean," said the little old man.”
- Shel Silverstein
Well...I just happened to read these words in an article somewhere, and I was struck by the beautiful meaning these words brought to me. Old people and little children are somewhere on the same way in life's paths. The difference is that old people have memories in which they're buried for years together, with no one to listen to them. I have often been struck by the similarities between the both of them. All they both want is a little bit of our time, and that's not asking for a lot, is it?
Oldies are as stubborn as kids when they set their mind on something. Of course, the mature adults cannot fathom the erratic reasons behind these or the way in which these needs will be fulfilled.
I have a grandmother who has seen a lot of hardships in her life, when she got married. However, all of this only made her stronger. She is the perfect example of "When life throws lemons at you, make lemonade". Today when I look at her, she's never too tired to give a hand in any kind of work, and will you believe it, she's almost 85!
All she has now is beautiful memories in which she saw hardships, sorrows but she still thinks of it as something that taught her a lot. Nevertheless to say, she is also a very stubborn person and often makes me feel that she is a child. She loves to talk, and always tells me stories about my dad's mischeifs when he was a kid. (These stories are pretty funny to hear, considering my dad's strict nature now) She has stories to offer about the pre independence era, of her time when she was of my age, of the value of money at that time and now...it feels so good to hear about it.. and I love listening to her when she speaks of it...
My maternal grandmother is my favourite of all. She has also, in a similar fashion, seen, watched and experienced a lot of things. I chat with her more comfortably than I can sometimes with my own mom. When I visit her, its almost like catching up with old friends, and may it be any topic, her advices always make me feel good about myself. She is as vivacious and bubbly as a child and her entire life revolves around all of us.
I was once with a friend of mine, sitting and chatting at our favourite haunt. There came an old man, and he sat on exactly the same bench we were sitting on. We made to get up and go somewhere else, lest he feel awkward with a guy and a girl.
But he said to us, " If you two get up from here and go, I will not sit here."
Feeling sheepish, we both sat down again. He then started chatting with us for a long time, and mind you it wasn't boring...it was illuminating. Of how simple life was back then, how innocence was rooted into every good deed. From his stories, he told us, that he still misses his wife...who died of cancer a couple of years back, he loves his grandchildren to bits. But he is not really happy being with his family, he cannot really talk openly with them and that is why he comes out and sits on this bench to talk to strangers. He really has pearls of wisdom to offer, and yet no one to hear them!
This could perhaps also be the reason why grandparents love their grandchildren so much. They understand why these little ones require our attention all the time and why they sometimes feel neglected due to the limited amount of time spent with them.
As a kid, I personally felt that I wanted to grow up as soon as I could. Now however I feel otherwise, but back then it felt like such a great thing to be finally be able to voice my opinions and not be made fun of. Not that I was ridiculed, but I at times felt that I did not get the answers to all the questions that I wanted.
Alas, kids nowadays have information at the tips of their fingers, but I did not. That innocence is nowhere to linger and watch.
But, I have made a point here! And that is that, no matter how much we try, we still have a kid inside all of us. But we often forget that fact when we're adults and are burdened by the pressures of work, money, family etc. As adults, we should all try to not forget that our kids look up to us for everything and love us to bits. Not to mention, we should never neglect our own parents who are old now, because they're the ones who treated us with such care and devotion to really live and experience all the wonders that life has to offer..
Thats all for today.... Ciao :-)
Comments