Humans of Age

#kaffeetrinken #bedienen #serve

“End of work home” or quitting time home, that is the round about translation of senior care homes in the former East German Republic GDR or DDR as it was called in German. This is a photo from 1984. Even socialists get to spend their well-deserved break in a cozy place.

the French Feminist had a lot to say about age, too, especially women of age and how society snubs them. Subtitle “How must a society be created in which a human being can remain human in old age?” She is always putting the finger where it hurts. A 1970 classic read. 

What a great book about seniors in America who look back on their 20th century life. A gem of a book by famous oral history author Studs Terkel

I think I was 42, and i at first was a little proud of it, but then i quickly pulled it out :-)

For guys, grey must be better than bald. Let's hear what R. (57) has to say: "Turning grey? It's a natural progression. I am indifferent to it.... Aging is a gradual process, you become less emotional. I am now more interested in a macro view of life, the bigger schemes, less interested in personal issues."

Last year my mother, my motherly friend AND my mother-in-law died. 2021 was a rotten year indeed. Thankfully we can at least rely on a treasure chest of old photos to bring back certain moments in time. Do people with no photographs have a memory?

...but in these pandemic times, these are wishes that cannot be granted. Corona virus is making us fearful of each other, we cannot sit together, hug and enjoy each other closely. Will we step away and jump to the other side in the future? No, the human need for closeness, for mingling and celebrating will forever stay as part of our dna. We just need to be patient.

Eat your favourite chocolate and get inspired.

... but it wasn´t in his stars..... Nobody knows how long we will be here on planet earth. My uncle, born in 1922, was unfortunate to be born in Germany, where he of course was drafted after 1939, got caught as a POW in Greece, but was lucky to be a POW by the British Forces and sent to England, lucky enough to return home 4 years after the war ended, but then unlucky once again to get cancer at the age of 37, and die. A short life in turbulent times. He would have turned 99 this year, same generation as Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. the husband of a queen, who will soon turn 100.

May be you love grey upholstery and grey jackets and boots and purses and bed covers and socks, but let´s not kid ourselves, most of us do not like turning GREY too early, and so we keep dyeing our hair as long as we can.  A former neighbor  kept a bleach blonde hairstyle way into her 70s. When I had not seen her a few years and didn´t know she stopped colouring her mane, I could not recognize her the first time I saw her again. Grey is not the new blonde, and you know it .  But we envy the ones who dared to be their natural selves once and for all. Every year I think about letting my highlights grow out. It´s the in-between stages that sort of suck, aren´t they?  

WHY AREN’T YOU WEARING PURPLE, little lady?

WHY do we have to age gracefully for crying out loud????

Memories of the 70s. The older we get, the more we look back. Our youth becomes a nostalgic blur, we chase our childhood memories trying to recreate feel-good environments by surrounding ourselves with objects that act as reminders of “better days”. It is inevitable .... for each generation....

In India, traditionally, parents grow old with the oldest son and his family at home. That is, the son just never leaves his cozy nest. And he is still being served. On the plus side, Indian parents grow old without having to worry about dying alone, rotting away in their single household apartment one day, like my mother (85) worried this morning. The know somebody will always be there. It is taken for granted. Our freedom in the West and the luxury of getting a pension, welfare or other state help, has of course somewhat eroded our family structure. Some food for thought.... And see how agile old Indian limbs are: they never stop sitting in the yoga position. :-)