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Thursday, July 27, 2006
The joy of being old
By Henry L. Yu, M.D
What are the good things about being old? Those born in 1936 or earlier (who are now 70 or older) and 1946 (who are now 60 years old) would surely know as they are now in this category of being called old or elderly or senior citizens.
But there is joy in being old. So, what’s the beauty of being one? Oh well, many things, such as: You are given the importance and respect by the younger people. They would courteously give up a seat for you in the mall or restaurant.
They would open the doors for you and would let you go in first. They help you carry things. They make alalay to you when you ride a jeepney or go up or down the stairs. They don’t mind so much if you make a mess in a crowd by proclaiming that you’re just acting your age.
When you’ve reached this age bracket, some basic needs are fulfilled, like the need to be loved, to be needed, to be acknowledged, to be given importance, etc. You become a consultant, an authority on so many things because you have the experiences, the knowledge, and the wisdom. There are a lot more privileges that are afforded to the older persons, things that they didn’t get to experience during the 1970s and 1980’s as they were the ones doing these favors then to those older than them. Oh well, life is a cycle. They were yesterday’s teenagers of the Yeah Yeah Vonnel Generation and today’s older persons of this dot.com gen. But most of all, we thank God for them for giving them the gift of life and the joy of being old.
And talking about being old, the Golden Center of Cebu Inc. (GCCI), an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life among the senior members of our community, through services, education, training and research, will be holding the 2nd GCCI Annual Convention with the theme The Joy of Caring for the Older Persons come October 13-14 at the Grand Convention Center of Cebu. This will be a gathering of multisectoral associations of doctors, nurses, midwives, nutritionists, educators, and other allied medical sciences and various civic and government agencies, all working together for the special members of every Filipino community who are our elders.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 27, 2006 issue)
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