Walking straight to the electronics department, she is visibly excited. She asks for the salesperson to help her purchase a brand new iPod.
“What color would you like?” he asks her.
“The hot pink one!” she loudly declares so that all can hear.
She pays for her purchase and gingerly places it in her leather handbag.
“Now how on earth do you work this thing?” my grandmother asks me.
My grandmother, who is in her mid-seventies, decided to purchase an iPod shuffle (noting that it was small enough to hide inside her bra!) in order to listen to her music and to be able to tune out the perpetual sounds of news that my hearing-deficient grandfather blares around the clock. After our shopping trip, I realized that this was going to be a great bonding experience when my grandparents watched in amazement as I magically uploaded all of their favorite big band and Sinatra sounds onto the tiny little gadget. My ultra hip grandmother is now the first to own an iPod amongst her friends, something she is now quick to share.
There are many ways to bond with grandparents and the elderly. In today’s society, the elderly population is often isolated from the young, but there are so many things that younger generations can do to bond with their elders. Maybe music and technology aren’t your methods of forming a friendship, but there are other great things you can do.
Rachel Doyle, President and Founder of GlamourGals, notes that she used to love to lunch with her grandmother. “She always picked up the tab,” Rachel laughs. But she also knew that this experience was something that could easily be shared and helped her grandmother contribute and dote on her granddaughter.
One of my favorite pastimes to share with my eighty-nine-year-old grandmother (who is not high tech enough to carry an mp3 player) is to crochet with her. My original crochet instructor, my mother, is a perfectionist and when I would make a mistake and want to gloss over it, my mom would rip out all of my stitches and make me start again, which often deterred me from finishing a project. Though I am now a perfectionist when it comes to handy crafts, at the time, it was fun to share this hobby with my legally blind grandmother, who would A) never dream of ripping out my stitches (she believed everything I created was beautiful), and B) who believed that mistakes were important in life. After my grandfather passed six years ago, I would spend the night with my grandmother once a week and we would stay up late and chat and make scarves and blankets. Even today, though her sight is severely limited, I still bring my projects to share with her. As she touches them, I explain their colors and pattern.
In the latest edition of CosmoGirl magazine, Tara Roberts notes the wisdom that the elderly possess in her article, “Old School,” and mentions that a conversation with someone older can help you figure out your own problems today. Since human emotions are universal, the advice and wisdom shared by the elderly is often quite helpful!
Even the characters from the MTV reality show, The Hills, have taken to spending time with their grandparents. Stephanie Pratt, the sister of the despised Spencer, volunteered to shop with her “Nana.” Though their styles may vary, everyone likes shopping!
Despite the fact that it sometimes seems like age is a huge barrier, it is ultimately just a number. People are people and human experiences are all basically very alike. Spending time with someone else can only help you grow yourself, but by doing things with an elderly person, you are also helping them to discover the youth that lies within. As my grandmother just said to me on the phone yesterday when reiterating her love of her new pink music player, “I’m just like you guys now!”
