The most respectful people in my society are usually the elderly. These elders have vast experience about life, and their opinions are usually sought in some tough decision-making in the society. Most of them are full of wisdom and always approach issues through their past experience.
I was privileged to live with my great-grandmother just a few months before she died. Those days, my life was full of proverbs. LOL, this woman cannot pass a message without adding proverbs to it, and I am always curious to understand most of her tough proverbs. Overall, I learned many things from her, but it became sweeter when I started living with my grandmother at 7 years old and continued until I got married.
My grandmother is about 71 years old at the moment. Living with her from my childhood age down to adulthood made us very close to each other. It looks as if she gave birth to me directly. Sometimes, when people ask about my mom, I will first think about my grandmother before I realize that she isn't my direct mom; this is how close we are also, and to date, that closeness is still there. I still tap into her well of wisdom whenever needed.
The things I enjoy about her...
She is hardworking: I think I need another strong word to replace this because my grandmother should be termed a human being beyond ordinary hardworking. This woman believes that surviving in this world should entail hard work. Getting your hands busy at all times to achieve greatness. She doesn't believe that one can live a good life by what others give to them; she believes in hustling to make her money and spending it on important things at the right time instead of waiting for a giver. She detests laziness, even at her age. She multitasks a lot! One time she is into this business; another time, you will see her trying another as a side hustle. Even now that her children are capable of taking care of her, she still finds it easy to take care of herself without folding her hands because no one knows what tomorrow holds. What if the only source of income you depend on has issues? This is why she doesn't depend on the money given to her by her children alone. Living with my grandmother for years, she indeed had a great influence on my life in terms of her hardworking nature. It seems I took everything from her on this, and I enjoy this part of her character.
She is supportive. I wasn't born when her husband was alive, but from the story she told me, she was always supporting him with her money. She never hides her money and allows her husband to bear the whole family's burdens alone. Now that I am married, grandma always reminds me over the phone to be a supportive wife, both morally and financially. I still watch her support her immediate family and outsiders when she can. I love this about Grandma, and I am already influenced by her.
Her approach to sensitive issues: being a woman with lots of life experience, she is not always in a hurry to handle some issues. She normally says in my dialect that when you rush into an issue, you might be thrown off balance and you will rush out and perhaps escalate the issue. She takes her time, ponders the problem, thinks about the possible outcomes, and in some cases seeks the opinion of others before approaching a particular issue. To me, there is so much wisdom in this act of hers that it's worthy of emulation.
Her words of wisdom, her counsel when issues arise, the proper planning and priorities she places on things when needed, and other attributes of her are the amazing things I enjoy about her.
If you are privileged to have an elderly person close to you, you may need to pay close attention to them. You might learn a thing or two about life through their wide experience in life.
This post is in response to the #hivelearners community contest on the topic "The oldest person you know."
