Grandparents and Elderlies
The home is where the family lives consisting of parents and children. In some cases, others live in the home too – grandparents, a helper or two, and relatives.
In the Philippines, while I have not come across the number of grandparents, the number and percentage of seniors are recorded from year to year. We can surmise that the number of seniors (persons at age 60 and above) could be close to the number of grandparents as the latter could be such already even before they reach sixty. The number is increasing yearly and is approximately ten percent of the Philippine population. This means for every ten Filipinos, one is a grandparent.
Furthermore, from experience, more males die ahead of their wives, leaving the children and grandchildren living with the grandmothers or lolas.
“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged.” (Prov. 17:6). In the study of our Filipino family culture, the family is closely-knitted. The love of children for their parents and grandparents is much talked-about. In my previous column on grandmothers, I fondly recalled several contestants in beauty pageants and singing and dancing contests who were grateful to their grandmothers for taking care of them. To be singled out for appreciation in public is a big deal.
In our country where around ten percent of Filipinos are working abroad, money is sent to the families for their expenses. This amount is a huge help to get the families out of abject poverty especially for elderlies who do not receive pension and so many others who have meager SSS pension. On the other hand, there could be the reverse situation for some families where the grandparents may have more resources than their children. This is where the good Filipino value of generosity plays its role. Grandparents share their resources with the children’s families. Children who support their parents, the grandparents, are truly blessed as the grandparents who support their children’s families must be equally so pleasing to the Lord too!
As grandparents advance in age, their bodies naturally weaken. I compare the body to a machine which deteriorates as time goes on due to wear and tear even with good maintenance. Grandparents must do their physical exertion with moderation. We are reminded often not to bend for obvious reasons. If private consultation is expensive, visit the Barangay health center for the free consultation and also for some free basic medicine. The health centers are becoming more friendly to us. Stumbling is fatal to us. It must be avoided. Ask for help from a person to hold you while walking, or have a cane or a stroller. A big number of my good neighbors died of fractures due to falling, stumbling and due to other causes of losing their balance.
There is this final idea which may be strange to you. We, elderlies say we stand apart from others because we are wiser. Since this is our pride, wisdom must be used to its full advantage, that is for continuous learning. With countless experiences we have undergone, we can anticipate what would happen and therefore prevent accidents and bad incidents to happen. For our lifetime, we have acquired a good lifestyle and useful habits. However, there are few habits we must abandon because of our age. These are bending, climbing chairs and tables usually for cleaning, eating unhealthy food, working with physical exertion, skipping the taking of medicine, lack of rest and others. Daghan man diay ang old habits nga dapat ma discard. Knowing the new habits and doing them will test the pride of wisdom we boast to the young ones. Learning is never too late.
For me, the trust of my two children on me is very important since I am staying in Davao while they are in Manila. The reminder for me to take care is now deafening. I always tell them I do my best because I do not want them to worry and I want their trust on me solid all the while. Furthermore, I do not own my life. God owns it. Hence I must take care of it and be able to account for it when my time comes.
Could we now say: Happy Jubilee for us Grandparents and Elderlies!
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