The irony is, people who reach the so-called golden years are often put in institutions with the same beguiling, gilt edged names such as Golden Age Home, Golden Acres, Golden Springs.
Maybe they added the word “gold” to those places and also to the years of growing old to sort of ease the pain and give the illusion that life will be glittering. We have the golden age of music, of art, and of course, the Golden Years of people. But therein lies the misnomer, the fabrication, the illusion and downright prevarication, for there is nothing golden about growing old.
Youth has its pleasures. Just watch any child playing. At that tender age, a child has nary a care in the world and, in most cases, their health and wellbeing are in tip top shape. The teenage years are pretty cool too, for with the onset of puberty, the hormones are raging and experimentation is at its highest.
Jump to young adulthood with that first job, relationships, young love, maybe even settling down and having children. Truly the “Golden Years”.
CHANGE
Then you grow older, wiser, a bit more cautious and conservative. All things being equal, health and wellbeing are O.K. Surely, this era can also be dubbed the “Golden Years”.
Then suddenly life changes. The youthfulness has gone. You slow down. The chin starts to sag. Belly fat won’t go away. The gold is starting to tarnish.
What cruel irony and wicked humor is this to call that era the “Golden Years”? Elderly people don’t agree these are golden years, because they bring nothing but anxiety, fearfulness, grief, frailty, pain, abandonment, incontinence and numerous health issues.
Nobody escapes. Life is now revolved around pension plans, health insurance schemes, frequent visits to the doctor, joint pain and loneliness.
I know people who are living on countless pills per day, just to be pain free and breathe properly. The ailments are too numerous to name here, but you can use your imagination.
Anyway cheer up, you have outlived many and the golden grandchildren bring joy.
