A series of essays….
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OUR GRANDDAUGHTER, LYDIA~ WE ARE VERY BLESSED. |
….as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
“I asked an elderly man once what it was like to be old and to know the majority of his life was behind him.
He told me that he has been the same age his entire life. He said the voice inside of his head had never aged. He has always just been the same boy. His mother's son.
He had always wondered when he would grow up and be an old man. He said he watched his body age and his faculties dull but the person he is inside never got tired.
Never aged. Never changed.
Our spirits are eternal. Our souls are forever. The next time you encounter an elderly person, look at them and know they are still a child, just as you are still a child and children will always need love, attention and purpose.”
~ Author Unknown
My complete fascination with those who have lived long lives and have the wrinkles, dark spots, crepey skin, and stories to show for it has been a part of me for many years. Their personal stories are plentiful and interesting. Wouldn’t you enjoy listening to the truth via those who have experienced it first-hand many years before us?
When we first began traveling to Europe with our daughters back in 1990, I decided to choose a theme that would encourage me to take intimate pictures from everywhere we visited. My initial theme happened to be highlighting the elderly. I felt that they represented and bolstered the idea of a Europe that was historically much older than the United States and were at the top of the pyramid of family life and relationships. Each person I photographed was like a cherished leather bound storybook waiting to be read; they were all very beautiful with enticing, well-worn smiles that served as unique illustrations for their individual stories.
With my Canon slung over my shoulder while walking around a busy pedestrian shopping area in Munich, I captured a lady who was concentrating on steering her bike around the crowd of international tourists. Her brow-line was deeply furrowed while wisps of white hair escaped her small knit cap. Her stockings were rolled down her thin legs until they actually pooled just at the ankles. Suddenly her beautiful dark eyes found mine as I lifted the camera to capture her image.
Instantly she became wide eyed and mellow and a smile unfolded across her narrow face like a colorful celebratory banner. Something awoke within her. In an instant, she gave to me far more than I could ever give her in return. She was mine to cherish for as long as I could stare at the image that was created that sunny afternoon in Germany.
During that trip, my Canon captured a sweet child of around three years of age who was unabashedly walking several paces from her mother in Auxerre, France; a lady, white hair swathed in a brightly colored scarf, walking home with several baguettes in hand; in another small village in France, a very fragile lady leaned out of her upper floor window and greeted everyone walking below with a resounding ‘bonjour’; two rather stately older gentlemen walking down a tree lined path who appeared to be working on improving the Irish economy with each sentence spoken; and our own daughter, Corinne, wide-eyed and disbelieving as she witnessed her first French pizza pie sporting an over easy fried egg on top as she took sips from our oversized mugs of frosty bier.
Even when I was young, I never shied away from elderly family members, neighbors, or strangers. I always found them to be charming and with so many stories to tell. Cousins and friends might have felt uncomfortable being in close proximity to the elderly sighting them as different smelling, awkward to be around, and even a bit frightening. I often thought how happy I would be to have lived, laughed, and loved for so long! With any luck, we would all be there one day ourselves.
I attribute my feelings to my Grandpa Moshak, my mother’s Ukrainien father, who would have me tag along on a hot summer’s day as he would bring food, comfort, and conversation to those who lived in this Ukrainien section of Mishawaka, Indiana. Standing in a darkened kitchen, the sunlight barely drifting through half opened shades, I would observe Papa easing any concerns they may have with his soft spoken words and kind smile. They appreciated his patience and graciously accepted the help he offered them. This helped to make their daily lives tolerable in a country that did not understand their habits and language.
Thank you, Papa!
As we get older, all we truly need is for those younger, less tolerable, to understand and appreciate the years of life experience we have unintentionally allowed to seep into the vital cloth that makes up who we are. If we are lucky, the person we are inside never gets tired or old and the voice inside our heads never ages. The mind remains a sponge absorbing something new each day. Our body might age but the person we are inside continues to be active and vibrant when we allow it to. We are our mother’s daughters and sons; the same children we always were needing love, attention, and a purpose to keep moving forward.
Our only ginger grandchild, Lydia, will be celebrating her fourteenth birthday next week. Her great grandmothers, Olga and Beverly, would take pride in her thick, beautiful locks considering they were both gingers themselves. Lydia’s special day got me thinking about how precious and complex the life process is and how she has always accepted others at any age; already written her own stories about growing-up and respecting those around her. She is an ‘old soul’ in every sense of the term and has always had a very wise air about her.
Turning fourteen must be the standard gauge used to quantify the precise moment we ‘younger souls’ can evaluate an ‘older soul’ within a young body. If this is the case, our precious Lydia, we acknowledge the many lifetimes that have contributed to your kindness and understanding throughout the years. You, like your great great grandfather, hold the wisdom, kindness, and truth that you so graciously project on all of us who know you.
Happy Birthday sweet young lady. I love you with all of my being!
May we never age or change within our hearts as our bodies grow older. May we only become wiser with the attitude and outlook of the child we were always meant to be. Our spirits are eternal. Our souls are forever. After all, we are only children who will always require love, attention, and a raison d’être.
Copyright © 2021 by Jacqueline E Hughes
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