A few years ago, I was looking at the prospect of spending my first Christmas divorced. I was still looking at the world through childless glasses at the time and was reeling from losing my very best friend at the time to someone younger, smarter, prettier, etc. I decided to go back to the nursing home where my Mema used to live and paint fingernails. I used to paint my Mema's nails when she was still alive, and the nursing home staff was always very nice to me and to her.
When I went that Christmas Eve, I met a lady who was 99 years old. We talked, and I found out that she also didn't have children. She said it was one of her regrets that she couldn't have them but figured life was all right even without them. I have no idea why she and her late husband didn't adopt, and I didn't want to pry. It might have been a painful topic for her. But we chatted, and I started visiting her every few months.
I went to see her again today, and she said something that surprised me. She said she had absolutely no regrets, and that if she had the opportunity to live her life over, she would do it again and do the same things. It was really neat to see how even at her age (she'll be 102 next month), her perspective shifted like it did. I hope that some day I'll be able to look back at my life without regret. Currently I do have regrets, but maybe in 60-some-odd years, I'll look at things differently.
Anyway, I just wanted to share about this lady. She's a very sweet woman and just lights up when she has visitors. She once told me that she doesn't want to be like the other people at the home. So many of them have kids, but no one ever visits them at all. She wants to be surrounded by people as much as possible, and her personality allows for that. She's a lucky girl.
I guess the moral of the story is that whenever the obliviots (I heard that somewhere and can't remember where) ask us who will take care of us when we're old, we can tell them about this lady and then tell them to put that in their pipes and smoke it. Right?
