Pilgrimage with your Parents

I would like to share my experiences with??my parents , my Dad and Mom both lived into their late 80's and in fact my Dad was 89 years old till he left his mortal body.

Spending time with them made me realise?the challenges one faces in old age, medical illnesses related to old age, bed sores, diapers, ryles tube for feeding etc and the physical agony they went through.

More importantly, another facet which I realised was that of their loneliness , as we ourselves could not spend quality time with them as we got busy with our own lives , chasing our goals, businesses, looking after our kids future , education , welfare etc .

I realised that they used to wait for our visits with them and I was told that every bell which rang, they used to feel that one of their sons had come to visit them.

All of us in our family were fortunate to have spent quality time with our parents and feel we are blessed .

Fast forward to March 2020 , Covid struck and everything was shut down and I was now involved with?Graceful Living ( initiative of Tulsi Trust)??and Able Living?and we realised that aspects like a walk in Nana - Nani park, visit to holy places, going for movies , meeting friends had come to a grinding halt and this had a devastating effect on our elderly folks.

We initiated a series of virtual Webinars highlighting various aspects mentioned above and called experts on topics like Ageing Gracefully, Geriatric Physicians, Gerontologists , therapists , motivational speakers etc and it helped allay a lot of their fears and also knowledge on how to deal with the challenges thrown by Covid.

?My Takeaways :

Please spend as much time??with your parents

Be a good listener and develop patience as they will tend to repeat their past stories and experiences.

Be tender, loving and gentle with them.

Also ensure your children spend quality time with them .

?I can assure you that this is the best pilgrimage you will experience , as parents are depiction of God which you can see and feel and those of us who spend quality time and care for them are indeed blessed to have been given the Golden opportunity to do so while they are still there with you.

Feel free to share with those who can benefit from it.