Love = Time

           Every woman has a story to tell and usually more than one......on any given day!

photo from images

What is it that you see when you first look at the above picture?

I see a park bench filled with loneliness!  The fallen leaves that are all nestled on the ground, all around the bench, is an obvious indication that no one has visited this area in a while.

I also see a few leaves that have swirled their way down, finding a resting place on two rustic pieces of wood.   They're just sitting there, waiting to be swept away by the next heavy breeze.

Much like those that I visit in the nursing home....  They too have found a lonely place to wait.....until the next heavy breeze takes them away.  

This is the second part of my post from yesterday......

We placed my dad in this memory care unit, back in January of this year.   As I said in my last post....I try to visit him every day and by doing so, I have the opportunity to visit daily with several of the other residents while I am there.

For most of them, their minds are lost in the days of long ago, but I can see the a small light shine in their eyes, when I communicate with them each day.

This place has become a daily Blessing for me!

There is this one guy that I have somewhat attached myself to.   He loves caps and on any given day, he may be wearing one, two, three or even six caps at a time.  He stacks them on top of each other and places them on his bald head.   

He is bound to a wheelchair, but this does not stop him from going wherever he wants to go.  One thing disturbs me though.  Never...not once have I ever seen anyone stop by to visit him!!!  This is sad.....

He loves magazines.....even though he has no clue as to what it is that he's looking at.  His biggest thrill is the cards inside the magazines that you can tear out and send off to renew your subscription.   He LOVES them!!   I gave him one the other day, and my goodness....what excitement he had in getting it.

For a good many of the residents in a Alzheimer's unit....each day is a simple repeat!!!!   Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner!!  

Same holds true for many of the elderly who live in other Nursing homes.

The staff at the home where my dad is at, does an awesome job in planning activities for their residents......however, this does not replace the loneliness that many of them feel......as lonely as these folks in the nursing homes are....there are also many parents, grandparents and great grandparents who live in their own homes....that are living a lonesome life.

Why.....

Because they are somewhat forgotten.....by those that they love.

This is not the case for all elderly people.....but, it holds true for so many!!

It is our intended actions to go by and visit with them at least once a week...and then it turns into once every two weeks....before you know it, we find ourselves finding that our {personal time} is much more important than the great intentions that we once had.....

Suddenly, those intentions become hidden in the midst of the socialism that we choose for our own enjoyment. 

As people age....they begin to recognize a different meaning of the word LOVE.......in their eyes, they see it written this way....

LOVE = TIME

All they want is a just a small bit of your time!!  If distance is what separates you from your Grandparents or Great Grandparents.....then pick up your phone and give them a simple 10 minutes of your time each week.  

and you know that we ALL have a PHONE at our reach or usually stuck to our hip.....

These people love us and that has never changed....what has changed is the RESPECT that we owe  them.....just for being our parents, grandparents or great grandparents.   These are the folks that keep us lifted up in prayer....who are proud to call us their family....who need us in their lives!!!

Yet....RESPECT for the aging has somehow found a different definition in this world that we live in today...

Just saying'

I hope that those that read this will recognize that we all have loved ones that need us....and I hope that each of us will make every effort to allow the TIME we have to be transformed into LOVE!!

Shug