Hi Googlies, 12/7/10

Praise Jesus! Thank you Mama Mary!
Herald Sunday Mirror published ‘Let Me Live a little Longer’ yday. Posting the text. I got a surprise yday when a friend called and mentioned that Navhind Times had published “Be My Grandpa” in Zest on Sat. I had sent it three weeks ago. Posting that story as well. Sajla, enjoy!
Home-schooling has got a thumbs-up sign from Glenn at last! Now I feel so impatient; want to take them out immediately but I will be a good girl and prepare the base and the place first. Got to buy the books and do some reading and make the schedules for each child. On Sat, I bought Charis a blank book and some pics of animals, birds, fruits, etc to get her started on recognition. She was happy with the colours I purchased and promptly started colouring everything in sight. No writing till she is five yrs at least. Want her to enjoy her childhood. Shall have a 5-day week of school. Sat will be housework and cooking day. Sunday for prayer and talent and also visits.
Yday Aaron swabbed one room and Nathan another. Kirsten swept the whole house and swabbed the hall while I did the kitchen. no work for Glenn coz he had the cooking to finish. Sun is my day ‘off’ from cooking!
Chalo then. Enough of me and my big plans. Take care n write in.

From the heart,
Auriel.

Let Me Live A Little Longer

Psychologically, our society is geared to the young. Movies, sports, advertisements, fashions all stress the importance of youth. So the elderly have less of a role to play and unless younger people help their elders to overcome the frustrations of old age, they will live out their twilight years fading out instead of blazing out.
Stop and ask yourself this: “What do older people want to get out of life?” Years ago a member of the Society of Friends summed up the basic needs of the aged thus: “Somewhere to live, something to do and someone to care.” How can you help your old family members fulfill these basic desires? You can do nothing at all unless you put yourself in an older person’s place. To do this, you must first rid yourself of these two misconceptions about aging.
Myth 1: Old age makes people different. Most of us feel that the moment a woman becomes a grandmother, she automatically assumes a halo of sweetness. And the autocratic penny-pinching dad transforms into a mellow gift-giving grandfather. Or we take the opposite view: that old age makes people crabby and cantankerous. Any elderly person has taken a long time to get the way he is, and he is going to remain that way. If Grandpa refuses to stop smoking in bed, or Grandma won’t change the fashion of her clothes, neither should be forced to do so. To accept direction (spelt correction) from those you used to have authority over in the diaper and romper stages can be a bitter pill to swallow indeed.
Myth 2: The old like to be in a safe and cozy nest. No older person likes to have his life planned for him, whether his children tuck him in an old people’s home or put him in a gilded cage. Many older people are forced into loss of self-assurance by their own children. Children may coddle aged parents not only out of concern for them but also because they really want their parents to live restricted lives so they will not interfere.
Most older people are remarkably tough and capable, even if they have physical limitations.
So plan with, not for, old people. If your older relative wants to cling to the living quarters where he’s been content for so long, stand up for him. Older people value their own homes first, and privacy at all costs anywhere. It is more economical in terms of the eventual strain that will develop on both sides to help him stay where he wants to be even if the monetary expenditure is greater.
Help the elderly person by making him know he is valued. You can ask advice or confide your troubles to him. You can ask him to write down his memoirs or to preserve family heirlooms for the grandchildren. Encourage him to pursue a hobby he loved doing in his younger days or one that he never got around to doing because of job pressures. I have heard of a man who entered medical college at 70, got his degree with honors and became an eminent physician. Another man went to law school at 71 and is now an active lawyer. Then there is this woman who learned to paint at 77, held a ‘one-man’ show at 80, and today, at 86, is still going strong. It never too late to add another ‘skill’ to the repertoire. It keeps the mind active and awake.
A few words to the elderly: A psychologist’s recipe for the elixir of youth, as given by George Lawton in the American Magazine, is what I give to you. He said: “Age cannot be measured by the number of your birthdays. As the years pile up, biological time slows down. Different parts of you grow old at different rates. Your eyes began to age at 10; your hearing around 20. By 30, your muscular strength, reaction time and reproductive powers have all passed their peak. On the other hand, your mind is still young and growing at 50; your brain doesn’t reach its zenith until 10 years after that. And from 60 on, mental efficiency declines very slowly to the age of 80.”
Older people frequently suffer some loss of memory, but creative imagination is ageless. Our judgment and reasoning powers improve, as does our strategy in tackling problems, thanks to a wealth of experience. That is why the old doctor, the experienced craftsman, the veteran lawyer can hold his own against younger and more energetic rivals. Keep your mind awake and you’ll stay young all over. Take an interest in the world around you. And make it a point of learning at least one new thing everyday. Keep up with newspapers and magazines; busy yourselves with creative hobbies, preferably ones that use the hands as well as brains. A housewife at 50, with no previous experience, made herself into an outstanding industrial designer. A retired electrical engineer has become a highly paid ceramic artist. A woman of 70 – whose children thought she should retire to the shelf- conducts a successful cooking school for brides.” Closer home, Mohan Bhandare, at 75 years, held his first solo art exhibition here in Goa at the Big Foot Art Gallery, Loutolim in May 2010. The ‘Golden Girls’ of Goa are yet another shining example of the ‘joie de vivre’ that the elderly can possess with their infectious enthusiasm for life.
So I raise a toast to the elderly - May you always have somewhere to live, something to do and someone who cares for you. May your children and your children’s children be your solace and comfort as you live the most satisfying years of your life, blazing out in glory.

BE MY GRANDPA! (Short story)

Sahir was on his way to school. The winding path, leading to the main road where he caught the bus, was a long one. It passed through a tiny hamlet. Uncle Arnold, a septuagenarian, lived in one of the ancient Portuguese houses all by himself. He would wait every day for the little boy to pass by, greeting him with a toothless smile and sometimes an offer of some delicious toffee or chocolate.
Today, Sahir looked expectantly towards Uncle Arnold’s house but the old man was nowhere in sight. “Whatever could be the matter?” thought the young lad, alarmed. He was debating whether to go in through the gate, when the next door neighbor popped her head out of the window. “Hello, Sahir. Looking for Uncle, are you? He’s not in; had a bad fall yesterday so we had to rush him to the hospital.” she said. Sahir felt sad. He walked off to catch the bus in a morose mood.
At school, Sahir could not concentrate on the lesson. His teacher, realizing that the boy was troubled, took him aside after class and asked what was wrong. Sahir told her the whole story. His teacher advised, “Why don’t you visit your Uncle in hospital? He’ll be happy to see you and you can offer to help look after him when he returns home.” Sahir’s eyes lit up. He thanked his teacher. As soon as he returned home, he told his mother, who promised to take him that very evening.
In the hospital, Uncle was all alone, looking sad and forlorn. His right leg had been put into a cast. Sahir handed him a small bouquet of assorted flowers picked from the garden Uncle tended so lovingly. “Oh, how thoughtful of you to come and see your poor Uncle!” said Uncle Arnold. “Are these from my garden? I hope someone is watering my dear friends for me.” Sahir said he would be happy to do it till Uncle was well again. ‘Come here, little one.” said Uncle, tears glistening in his aged eyes. “You do love your old Uncle, don’t you?” Sahir nodded and hide his face in the Uncle Arnold’s chest. The old man lovingly caressed his head and sighed. “I wish my own children cared as much. They are so far away. I’ve sent them news of my accident but no one has come or called yet.”
Sahir knew Uncle had a son in the States and two daughters, one in Mumbai and the other in Dubai. Aunty Carol had died a decade ago and since then Uncle Arnold lived all by himself. The children would visit in the holidays but apart from those annual visits, no one bothered with him. Sahir loved his Uncle Arnold and so he decided to look after him.
After a brief spell at the hospital, Uncle was brought home. Sahir would visit him regularly after school and in the evenings, after he had finished his homework. He cleaned the house for Uncle, watered the plants and ran errands for him. He read to him from the many books Uncle had in the library room or from the daily newspaper. Sahir’s mother sent food for him till he could move out on his own. On Sundays, Sahir would take Uncle to his house where they would play cards or carom. Sahir’s Dad would discuss current events with Uncle as they ate up Mum’s delicious luncheon.
Slowly but surely, Uncle improved in his health and was well once again. But his eyes never lost their sadness and Sahir knew why. Uncle was still waiting for his children and grandchildren to come and visit him. He would take out the family album often and look at their photographs, tears welling up in his eyes. Then he would sigh and go to his favorite rocking chair, close his eyes and dream of happier days. “How I wish I could tell them how much he misses them!” thought little Sahir. “Why do adults not care for their parents anymore? I will never leave my Mum and Dad alone like this. They will become sad, just like my Uncle Arnold.”
The little boy hugged Uncle Arnold and said to him, “I love you Uncle. I miss my grandfather so much and you remind me a lot of him. BE MY GRANDPA, PLEASE!” The old man returned the hug with tears in his eyes and replied, “You really do love me a lot, don’t you, little Sahir? Yes, dear one, I will be your grandpa. Thank you for choosing me. You have made me very, very happy indeed.”