22. Old age problems and their solving

We are not getting younger. When we are in our earlier age time passes very slowly. Sometimes we even try to hurry it doing thoughtless things wanting to have everything now. But since some time we don’t even notice how time flies. Time is the only thing that impossible to stop but how people want to do this.

Every age has its problems and troubles. And it seems that as older you are as many you have. When you are 15 you think only about what to put on, where to go in this in the evening, how to escape from classes and spend time pleasantly. But at 25 troubles are others. Life changes and every year brings something new, but of course not only problems. When time of studding has passed and you are not an irresponsible teenager any more, free to go where ever he\she wants, comes the time to work, to gain experience, to build the career, to get married, to born children and taking care of them. There are too many things to think about, too many problems to solve and that’s why time flies unnoticeably. And at last comes the time of retirement. For many elderly people that is a very difficult time, when you are at last as in your young years free to do whatever you want. You can travel all over the world if your pension allows you to do this. It’s the most popular occupation for the European and American pensioners, but unfortunately not many pensioners in Russia can afford this because of undeserved low level of pensions sometimes not enough even for food and clothes; only their children can provide them with money in this case. Also elderly people have the possibility to bring up their grandchildren and help their children in work for which they do not usually have time by reason of work and intensive work schedule. Or it’s possibly also to give all the free time to some other hobbies as taking care of pets and gardening. They can face the problem of lack of energy and strength, the obviously vital problem for elderly people, hard to solve in most cases because since years our body grew older and only the right life style during all our life can help to diminish the health problems in elderly age. Many elderly people face the problem of unreadiness to the freedom of retirement, when they have time to do everything they want but they got accustomed to work schedule and it’s difficult to change it. That’s why they prefer to work even after retirement. I think that’s not bad idea for those who got accustomed to work if to diminish the quantity of working hours to have the possibility to combine the active working life with other deserved free time occupations. I hope that I will have such a possibility, as I consider that only active life style, the communication with people, responsibility for making decisions let people be energetic as more years as possible, while isolated pension life only destroy people from inside, making them not only weaker mentally and physically but also angry and dissatisfied.

It’s impossible not to mention about inhuman situations when an elderly people having worked all their life and retired from work become a burden for their children. The ungrateful children send them to the homes for elderly people to get rid of them or forget about the old people for ever. In my opinion in the intelligent society there should be such inhuman situations. Only the human attitude towards people around us and especially towards our parents and relatives differ us from beasts and criminals. In most cases lonely people in such places lose the desire and interest for living and die slowly waiting for their children attention and coming, but in vain. The family circle is of course preferable for those people who brought us up and devoted their life to us, and we should be human and loving enough not to make them feel a burden.

In conclusion I’d like to tell you about my own family. My grandparents and parents taught me that the attitude towards elderly members should be respectable. I hope that I will manage to teach my own children to behave in such a way. I can say that during all life the elderly members of my family worked and never burn the candle at both ends (прожигать жизнь), they worked diligently and their deeds always were responsible and reasonable. That’s why now it’s difficult for them not to work, even if there are some health problems. As far as I notice from everyday life they combine successfully active work life with managing the house and some hobbies or not working but in spite of this have active life full of cares. I can say that they are not burdens but the full-grown (полноценный) members of the family and in general in many situations life stands on them. I respect and proud of all members of my family, especially elderly.