Go Ask Your Mother!
My mom’s pink and white pajamas fit me well. The soft material made me feel I was being surrounded by one of her hugs. Because she had lost a lot of weight, I inherited some of her barely worn clothes. Communication was muddled from my mother’s pain and medications. My regrets grew as her health declined. Why hadn’t I spent more time, asked questions, and learned more about her life?My encouragement to young people is this: have an urgency in treating the elderly as fascinating, living history lessons. If you have a special interest or curiosity about a certain time period, war, or political action, find someone who experienced it. What were the activities of daily living like 60 or more years ago, and what hardships did they include? What reactions did they see when a war ended, man reached the moon, or other noteworthy events? How large was their childhood home, and how many people lived in it? What was their first job, and who was a mentor? Ask them how difficult it has been to adjust to a fast-changing world of technology.
