Friday 6 December 2013

It's the little things....

I met a lovely man at the hospital today - I helped him use the cash machine and buy his lunch in the WHSmith store there. He was 90, his wife of 87 had had a bad stroke 9 weeks ago and was finally coming home today. He was so thrilled bless him, and delighted to have someone with a spare five minutes to hear how excited he was. They met in Berlin after the War, both demobbed and nothing to do, no money and nowhere to go. A story which almost couldn't happen today with the daily commitments and restrictions of modern life. His wife opened her eyes last week after two months asleep, his face after nearly 70 years together was lit up with love, so grateful for the extra time with her.

I bought them a big box of chocolates to share and keep thinking of how happy he will be this evening with her finally home, I cannot tell you how happy his story made me feel. With an ageing population it's so easy to see the elderly as a burden, a responsibility which gives nothing back but nothing could be further from the truth. The older generation have so much to give, but the time and patience it takes to receive is all too limited in our high speed society.

This week, take time to listen to someone elderly who has something to say. Learn something from someone's past. I did, and I have, and the gift that man gave me is far greater than any box of chocolates......





All the Small Things - MummyNeverSleeps

28 comments:

  1. That's great. I write for a journal that is for older people and I love that you took the time to help this man. What a lovely thing to do xx

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  2. Brilliant story, makes you stop and think about how taken-for-granted time is.

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  3. What a lovely story.

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  4. What an amazing story and a lovely thing to do.

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  5. What a wonderful story. I really believe in the power of 'time' to brighten someone's day. I imagine that man would have been overwhelmed by your generosity. We should all remember this on a daily basis.

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  6. I love it when moments like this happen. So wonderful to hear, I bet he is so relieved to have her home. Thank you for sharing :)

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  7. That's so touching it brought a tear to my eye. Gorgeous; you've brightened up my day x

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  8. Ah that's so lovely - and what a kind thing of you to do too x

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  9. What a lovely story, beautifully told.

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  10. How wonderful that they are still together after all this time.

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  11. Beautiful love things like this.

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  12. I was raised with such sayings as "if you don't have an elderly around, go and buy yourself one!"(translation from Romanian so not great, I know). It made us grow respectful of the elderly and appreciative of anything wise they have to pass on. We are lucky now that our church is a mix and again, the elderly are a source of wisdom, with the best jokes to crack sometimes :-). So yes, they are definitely an age group to appreciate, not to discard!xx

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  13. A truly wonderful story. It made my eyes a little wet

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  14. That's so lovely. Lucky you to have met him, and lucky him to have met you! I hope they have much more time together. x

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  15. oh that is lovely! you can learn so many life lessons from older people. I hope they are both still well and happy together

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  16. This is gorgeous. How wonderful that she woke up and they're able to spend even more years together. Stories like this really give you hope....

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  17. Beautiful story and a reminder of what's precious.

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  18. What a lovely story - I do hope they had a lovely evening together, and they have many more to come. x

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  19. What a lovely post and a wonderfully sweet gesture

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  20. What a touching story, so lovely x

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  21. Lovely, time is precious that is for sure.

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  22. What a great story - it's amazing what we can learn when we slow down and give some of our time to others. It sounds like you came out all the richer for it :-)

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  23. Can learn so much from talking to and listening to older people.

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  24. That is so lovely....I often wish I had spent time listening more to the stories my grandparents used to tell me

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Many thanks for taking the time to comment, I really value your responses.

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