Going Down?

I am reminded that the end of life can often mirror the beginning. It may be sad to some, but to me the big advantage is you know what to expect. All of the things you saw or did as a wee lad or lass you are indeed going to do as a older than dirt man or woman. Not to worry, hopefully the middle of the road bunch will both remember their youth and be patient with your advanced age:) It is all good.

Since I am the baby, I know that I will have the pleasure of providing loving care and support to the elders and the old people. I am only slightly mindful that someone is going to have that same privilege, but not to worry since it is so very far in the distance. There are a few concepts that I will make note of for those of you not yet in the game.

Going down has an entirely different connotation. In babies we are talking about getting new foods to go down, or for formula to stay down. In elders things go down but often come back up. In the old people we are talking specifically about gravity. So rather than the short distance from mouth to intestine we are talking about upright to pavement. Indeed, going down is bad news. And of course getting up may require neighborhood participation and a pot luck, or a visit from your local fire department. While there are chairs to get you from sitting to standing, there do not seem to be any ground based devices to accomplish the same.

OOPS also can have an entirely different meaning, some frightening images come to mind. For example, a bathroom oops in an infant requires one to two handy wipes, while the same event in an old person may require several bath towels, a shower and complete change of clothes.....and occasionally professional house cleaning. WAY DIFFERENT than when I cared for my son even on a very bad day.

Another oops may be dropping the pills. Again, in a little person often we are talking liquids or suppositories. Very wonderful routes as there is very little confusion and certainly the size of the object is considerable. But pills, for old people, can number 10-15 or more. "I dropped my medicine" can mean one or all of the pills, and we have no idea for sure if any of them had been swallowed first. Where to begin, and how do we decide which ones to give again on the chance that some may not have reached the mouth. What might the outcome be to say three heart pills and no diabetes pills......hmmm

Then of course there is the ever present loss of the mind. Now as an infant or child, it is not that you can not remember what you are supposed to be doing, but that you have no idea at all what you are supposed to be doing. As an elder there is a gray area which vacillates between not knowing and not remembering. But when you are old, you can not remember why you are in the bathroom, which really should be a fairly sufficient clue in itself. The likelihood that you will arrive home from the store with anything you went for is really irrelevant at this stage, it is the fact that you arrived home and actually at least remembered to go to the store.

Things to look forward too. So for now, be grateful for whatever mind you have and definitely put on your "patience" as you are going to need it. And remember, eventually it is going to be you!

Philippians 1:1-6