We were walking out of a nursing home and had just finished singing our set of Christmas carols and other songs meant to spread some holiday cheer. A worker at the nursing home had told us that our performance had probably made their whole holiday season. And although I felt good about being able to brighten up someones day, I couldn't help but wonder why seeing our performance alone would make up their whole year. Why were we the ones making their holiday season instead of their family? Why were they sitting in that room by themselves, watching us perform, instead of being at home?
I know that many people are unable to care for their aging parents due to medical issues that are too difficult to monitor, and money issues. And I know that putting your parents into nursing homes isn't uncommon in America. But personally, I don't think its a proper way to care for the ones you love. Parents are they ones who raise you, ones who care for you when your sick, who feed you when your hungry, and always love you. So why do we find it okay to just throw them into a nursing home to become someone else's business when they grow old? Why can't we show them the same kind of support they showed us?
I understand that some people don't have any choice but to put their parents in a nursing home. But for those who don't have to, I think that they should find a way to take care for their parents themselves. Don't leave the responsibility of brightening up your parents' days to total strangers.
2 comments:
A few years ago we had to put my grandpa in a nursing home. I didn't think much of it until I went to visit him the first time. Seeing him and others in the nursing home was incredibly depressing. I think a lot of times there comes a point where a spouse or family can't provide everything the person needs, and that's when someone ends up in a nursing home. :(
I would have to agree with your view on putting the aging in nursing homes. At the very least it seems that family could interact more with the person in the nursing home, maybe take them home for the holidays to visit instead of just leaving them there.
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