Today I spent the day helping care for an elderly friend. She is 87 years old and as many older individuals has her share of aches and pains. By that age, life's beatings and experiences really become apparent. Personal choices made throughout life such as smoking, drinking, poor hygiene and many others are present as consequences such as disease, weakness, deterioration, etc.
While spending time with this friend, I realized that elderly people are a lot like babies. It seems ironic that we start life out as babies and end life just like babies. I do not mean for my thoughts to seem condescending or rude. These similarities do not apply to every baby or every elder as many are self sufficient and in better health than a few adults. These are just observations I have made through my experiences with infants and my times with the the sick elderly.
Both babies and the elderly:
*Long for/require a great deal of attention
*Need assistance to eat, go to the bathroom, and bathe
*Wear diapers
*Need to be carried or pushed around
*Cannot always walk on their own
*Have a daily routine of eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom (repeat)
*Say the darndest things
*Yell or cry when they need something
*Are usually very sensitive to temperature
*Prefer mushy food
*Yearn for someone to just be around them
*Need to be burped
*Teach us lessons everyday through their actions or words
*Remind us of how precious life is
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