Taking Care of Our Elders

Last week, my kids and I visited the hair salon to transform from shabby-looking people to
tip-top new haircut people.

We do this before holidays - it's what I've always done.  It's what my mom did and what her mother did before her.

Does anyone else feel the burning need to get your hair cut before a big family get-together?

While there, I realized who exactly benefits most from a visit to the salon.  Do you have any guesses who it might be?

As I sat waiting by the kids' play area, I observed an elderly woman having her hair cut and styled.  I noticed when the hairdresser turned her around that the old woman's neck had so many wrinkles and folds (I assume from hard work out in the fields of a farm when she was younger) that she had to take special care to shape her hairline without nicking the skin.

I also saw an elderly man sitting patiently, gruff look on his face, in the waiting area.  I assumed this was the husband, whom I assumed grudgingly brought her to have her hair done.

I also witnessed a young man and woman in their twenties, tippety typing away on their cell phones - scrolling this way and that, not talking to each other or anyone else.  I assumed they were so absorbed in their own little phone world that they didn't know what was going on around them.

Then the hairstylist turned the elderly woman toward the waiting area and the twenty-somethings stopped what they were doing.  They looked up at her and said, "Hey grandma, you look great!!"  They gave her the thumbs up, took pictures with their cell phones, and cheered for her.  I tell you, she had no expression on her face during the 10 minutes prior, and I had wondered if she was "too far gone" to respond.  But when her grandkids cheered for her, she lit up.  All those wrinkles lifted up into a pleased smile.  And she flicked her hand in a "Go on, you guys!" motion.

At first thought, the act of picking up their grandmother and taking her for a hair appointment seems simple.  Then I recalled the expression on her face, and the genuine cheers from her grandkids, and I knew that what they'd done was monumental.

They gave up their morning to take their grandma out to get "gussied up" for the family Thanksgiving.  They showed her they cared for her, and that she was important.

Do you have a family member or other person in your life that would benefit from some attention?  Some positive encouragement?  Maybe this is the week to make a special trip to a grandparent's house or the nursing home.

My husband visits church members in the nursing home as part of his pastoral work, and he told me that one of the elderly women asked him to bring our kids next time.  She said no one comes to visit her except the nurses who bring her medications, and they're too busy to stay and talk.

"Can I take them next time?"  He asked me.
My answer?  "I think that's a great idea!"

"Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly 
and revere your God. I am the Lord."   Leviticus 19:32 

I encourage you to brighten someone's day this week.  If you have an elderly relative or neighbor, plan a visit! Bake (or buy) some cookies for them.  Have your child color a cheerful picture to give them.  Bring your child with you and they can learn the importance of respecting, caring for, and loving our elders.  And so your elderly relative or neighbor can enjoy the antics of your energetic children.  

As a country, we have lost sight of respecting our elders and taking care of them.  By taking this small step, and by teaching our children to do the same, who knows?  We may turn the tide and change the entire country's attitude toward the elderly.  Wouldn't that be phenomenal?

Please read Character Training if you want more information on how to "bring up your child in the way they should go."

This blog was first published on December 15, 2014

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