I listened to two stories today that made me cry. This is one of them:

Helen is a sweet, 82 year old woman who leaves plant cuttings, tomatoes and baking pumpkins at the end of her drive, with a "FREE! Take What you need" sign. I went down to check on her today, as there was a heat advisory and I knew she was alone. She was out pulling weeds in her garden when I arrived and I asked if I could help. After working for a half hour or so, she stood up and looked around at the slightly overgrown lawn and said to me, "Maybe my daughter's right."

I asked what she thought her daughter was right about and she began telling me how her loving children had been trying to put her in a nursing home since their father died 3 years earlier. "They don't think I can take care of myself and they don't want to be bothered coming out here," she told me. "But, I don't want to go to one of those homes. I've heard stories."

I've heard them too...the stories about the uncaring and sometimes cruel treatment of the elderly in nursing homes and even in their own homes. I don't blame her for not wanting to go. Besides the fact that she is quite able to care for herself, with just a little support. After we finished with the weeds, I helped her bring in her laundry from the clothesline and we talked a while longer. She is an intelligent and light-hearted woman, with interesting stories and observations. Her children could learn a lot from her, if they would only stop to listen.

Why don't we want to care for our elderly? At what age does a person suddenly become an inconvenience? I don't understand.

I gave Helen my cell phone number and email address and told her to have her daughter contact me if she didn't have time to check on her mother and I would be happy to do it. She deserves someone who cares about and values her.