Gramps

For the first time in my grandfather’s life he was living alone and I could not help but feel empathy for him. My grandfather and my grandmother had been married 51 years before my grandmother passed away a few months ago. Since that time my grandfather had been withdrawing from the family and the few friends he had. But things started to turn around for my grandpa a couple of weeks ago after receiving a visit from a senior citizen center that had recently opened up in our small town. At first my grandpa was reluctant but after some prodding from the family my grandpa slowly started partaking in activities such as the senior citizen bingo night and the new senior health spa. It was like a new lease on life for my grandpa. I don't remember ever seeing grandpa this active and my grandfather is pushing 72. It got to the point where instead of just stopping by to visit I had to call my grandfather to make sure that he was home and he was not out on the town with some of his new found friends from the senior care center. So it came as no shock to us when grandpa announced that he was going to be moving into the senior citizen care center so he could be better cared for. I think though that grandpa wanted to be closer to the "party" if you will. However, before moving into the center my grandpa had decided that his quality of life could be greatly enhanced if he were to get some hearing aids. Hearing aids, for my grandpa! I couldn't believe it. This coming from a man that said technology is not for him. If God wanted old people to hear, then their hearing wouldn't go away with age. That's what gramps used to say anyway. The hearing aid prices were low enough, and after the hearing aids and the spa treatments my grandpa has been a new man and I am extremely happy for him and his new found friends that he "bunks" with downtown at the state of the art senior living center.

Written by Whitney Balson