Hi Lisa. I understand where you are coming from and all about the circle of life and stuff. And your few lines about Andreah and Grandma, I do get it.

Yet I have done some interesting work in my my professional world with older people. It’s tragic how much of our society only values the newly blooming rose. Who said it began and ended there? Take a good look at a well cared for yet dried out rosebud. There is a rich beauty there too but our culture cannot seem to see it. And really, what is a true definition of beauty? Youthful outer appearance only? Not.

So these wonderful older people who in one way or another created and contributed much to enrich all our lives are then ignored, diminished, marginalized, patted on the head, tucked away and out of sight. Invisible. We owe them more than that. We will all be there some day, no matter how remote that possibility looks to someone at this moment.

Failing to see this about older people fosters ageism. And that gets in the way of including older people in this dance of life. Because whether you get to live to 35, 50, 84, 98…any age….we are allowed, if we chose, to boogie until we decide to stop.

Please know that I am only, with all the best intentions, sharing with you what I have seen. Fabulous older people. People who are extremely sad because they believe that they don’t matter any more. Yet here they are…alive on this beautiful planet. We need to think hard about where, how and why they got the message that they were done.

Please, if I have taken anything out of context or misunderstood… Accept my apology and please let me know.