This is a particularly meaningful post. I, myself, have become a grandmother in recent years although I hardly feel old enough, I still work, and I still have dependents (i.e. three in college). I can sense that the young moms around me, struggling to find rhythm and order in their lives, oddly cynical and disgruntled about parenting, do not see my 28 years of parenting 6 children as having any relevance to their current situation. I'm ready and waiting to share wisdom, actively trying to not give advice where it is not asked for. Very few are inquiring about how I ran our household, how I raised up 6 truly amazing young adults, how we managed to live on a tight budget, or even how I maintained my sanity. I think there are lots of reasons why the generational sisterhood is not existing in interdependent harmony. As a Christian, I love how the Bible teaches young women and older women to help each other along the way. Older women are told to teach the younger women, which implies, of course, that the younger women look to the older women with respect. Additionally, the Bible over and over instructs us to care for and respect the elderly. Pride and selfishness often discourage human connection. Some older women of today will often say that they have done their time and want nothing to do with coming along side our younger sisters. Maybe that's just a cover for being upset that no one is asking about their experience. The younger women are probably being over confident and therefore not relying on the older women while the older ladies are claiming their older years for self indulgent "me time." The internet feeds this cycle. The young women rely on impersonal, distant bloggers and influencers to get parenting and work/life balance advise. That somehow seems easier than submitting themselves to the less polished, less entertaining, often rambling words of the women around them. At the same time, internet advertising will emphatically tell the more mature set that it's time to live life to the fullest with travel and entertainment, leaving behind the duties of loving and caring for others.
While I feel the dull ache of not being sought out as an older woman for wisdom and tips and tricks, I now have my aging in-laws living across the street. Honestly, I am tempted to see my mother-in-law as irrelevant or somewhat annoying and cast her aside as no longer useful. Your post, as well as some things that she has said lately, are teaching me about my privilege and responsibility to care for her well, to include her as often as I can, and to show her the respect that she deserves. I cannot look down on her for needing help with making reservations, not knowing how to connect her phone with her car, or all manner of tasks that have become so difficult and tedious for her. With joy, I need to slow down and learn to listen, seeking out her stories and experiences.
I have worked for years as a geriatric nurse, counseling families about how to care for their aging loved ones, holding out to them the biblical call to respect and be patient with the elderly. I am now on both ends of the spectrum. I am caring for my own aging family members, while I too am getting old! I have much more sympathy for the families I have worked with in the past. It is NOT as easy as I made it sound!
I hope others find your post as inspirational and thought provoking as I did!
loved this ♥️ As a 73 old, white haired active happy member of the senior set - on the young side as my older compatriots remind me 😂 - I love this. Thanks for the shout out and encouragement. I have my share of invisible and demoted moments, yet my strength and dignity are fierce. I thank my ancestor mothers and draw upon their strength. and stories.
This is a particularly meaningful post. I, myself, have become a grandmother in recent years although I hardly feel old enough, I still work, and I still have dependents (i.e. three in college). I can sense that the young moms around me, struggling to find rhythm and order in their lives, oddly cynical and disgruntled about parenting, do not see my 28 years of parenting 6 children as having any relevance to their current situation. I'm ready and waiting to share wisdom, actively trying to not give advice where it is not asked for. Very few are inquiring about how I ran our household, how I raised up 6 truly amazing young adults, how we managed to live on a tight budget, or even how I maintained my sanity. I think there are lots of reasons why the generational sisterhood is not existing in interdependent harmony. As a Christian, I love how the Bible teaches young women and older women to help each other along the way. Older women are told to teach the younger women, which implies, of course, that the younger women look to the older women with respect. Additionally, the Bible over and over instructs us to care for and respect the elderly. Pride and selfishness often discourage human connection. Some older women of today will often say that they have done their time and want nothing to do with coming along side our younger sisters. Maybe that's just a cover for being upset that no one is asking about their experience. The younger women are probably being over confident and therefore not relying on the older women while the older ladies are claiming their older years for self indulgent "me time." The internet feeds this cycle. The young women rely on impersonal, distant bloggers and influencers to get parenting and work/life balance advise. That somehow seems easier than submitting themselves to the less polished, less entertaining, often rambling words of the women around them. At the same time, internet advertising will emphatically tell the more mature set that it's time to live life to the fullest with travel and entertainment, leaving behind the duties of loving and caring for others.
While I feel the dull ache of not being sought out as an older woman for wisdom and tips and tricks, I now have my aging in-laws living across the street. Honestly, I am tempted to see my mother-in-law as irrelevant or somewhat annoying and cast her aside as no longer useful. Your post, as well as some things that she has said lately, are teaching me about my privilege and responsibility to care for her well, to include her as often as I can, and to show her the respect that she deserves. I cannot look down on her for needing help with making reservations, not knowing how to connect her phone with her car, or all manner of tasks that have become so difficult and tedious for her. With joy, I need to slow down and learn to listen, seeking out her stories and experiences.
I have worked for years as a geriatric nurse, counseling families about how to care for their aging loved ones, holding out to them the biblical call to respect and be patient with the elderly. I am now on both ends of the spectrum. I am caring for my own aging family members, while I too am getting old! I have much more sympathy for the families I have worked with in the past. It is NOT as easy as I made it sound!
I hope others find your post as inspirational and thought provoking as I did!
loved this ♥️ As a 73 old, white haired active happy member of the senior set - on the young side as my older compatriots remind me 😂 - I love this. Thanks for the shout out and encouragement. I have my share of invisible and demoted moments, yet my strength and dignity are fierce. I thank my ancestor mothers and draw upon their strength. and stories.