He contacted my partner as he needed some assistance on a personal matter. We have not been in touch for many years.
This care center is part of a hotel where three floors have been converted into a nursing facility.
When we got there, we were saddened to see him in such poor physical condition. He is unable to walk, his eyesight is failing and he is hard of hearing. Dementia is also setting in.
Being old and helpless is a very scary thing. We should all be prepared to face old age - finances, care facility and eventual bereavement arrangements.
I felt very down when we left the care facility and I am still feeling sad today.
We took note that this care center also has a day care facility for seniors aged 60 and above. I am now 57 going on 58 and I will be 60 soon.
My daycare center will be my office, hopefully hah..hah..hah...
Although this visit opened up our eyes to the grim reality of aging, on the positive side, it made us more resolute to take care of our cognitive and physical health. Touch wood!
Just last week, my uncle (mum's elder brother) passed away. He suffered a stroke about a week prior and did not recover. It was a blessing that he passed peacefully instead of surviving and being in a vegetative state.
Ok. Better talk about happy things.
There is a book sale at Popular Bookstore yay!
So I went inside to look-see-look-see. No intention to buy anything.
Silencing the Lambs. Not Silence of the Lambs (one of my favorite movies).
I used to love buying cookbooks.
Luckily not anymore.
All these masakan (cookery) books, no need to see anymore.
I ended up buying four books. Haiz!
This is from the When I Was a Kid series.
I think I have parts 1 - 3.
I wanted to buy the complete series earlier but very pricey lah. This time there is a discount but the series available was not complete.
Then I also bought this one.
Escalator maintenance is something seen frequently at The Starling. Either the escalators always breakdown or they do frequent maintenance for safety. I hope it is the latter.
It looks like Thai Tai is alive.
They re-opened after a brief break.
My dinner of air fried steak and fermented veggies.
Now this one pulak closed for a few days. It took over the place vacated by Bananabro. In fact one mee tarik stall at A Foodie's Nest did not last very long.
Agree! Long time ago I already thought about death and life's big questions. Whenever I have the free time, I always pray to my god that if my time on earth is up, let me have a painless and peaceful death in my sleep at somewhere peaceful. I hope my God will grant me my wish. Meanwhile while I am still alive, I pray that my God gives me wisdom and protection like what you said in one of your posts/comments. Death is no longer a taboo as it comes to everyone yet some aunties and some uncles do not understand and are super pantang. They are not open minded enough. Of course I do not leave everything to God. I myself should be responsible for my own well being. You are an empathetic person, of course because we are humans with emotions. Yet on the other side, if there are good people in the society there will also be bad/evil/heartless ones. Oh gosh I had typed such a long comment. Ok next, to happier things like you said since life is short (at most a hundred years). And that will be food, pets and nature.
ReplyDeleteI think in Chinese culture, death is something not talked about openly, especially as you mentioned the older generation. Death is a certainty in life and cannot be avoided, so we should not fear it and not treat it like a taboo subject. I find that my Muslim friends are more open to the subject of death. Their attitude is that it is going back to God as our present life here on earth is a loan from the Almighty. One day, we will have to return and go back with nothing just like when we entered the world. You have the right attitude and awareness on this subject.
DeleteThe "when I was a kid" series looks like books that will make you laugh, are they? I want to die but I still want to eat tteokbokki. This reminds me that the niece of my buddy, small small kid knows how to exclaim randomly, "I don't want to die!" Thai tai (rich women who do not need to work) is still alive! Ummm, mee tarik stall (the signboard says China Muslim?) Muslims in China must be a minority. By the way, my condolences.
ReplyDeleteYes, that series is a humorous look at the author's childhood. The mee tarik is China Muslim cuisine, maybe not so popular, therefore did not last long. Thank you for your condolences.
Deletegetting old, i am 58 - also reaching the 60 mark soon, but i think i am blessed with 2 wonderful friends, one of them is my current boss which i have known for 26 years, and the other friend i known for 17 years. my other friend also extended his invitation to me to live with him when i decided to retires one day cos i am alone, solo. in fact he is my nominee in handling my accounts when i leave planet earth one day. he will handle everything, any balances i told him to take some for himself and some for charity. now is i live day to day, eat what i want to eat & drink what i want................ i have started to enjoy myself now
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed to have your two good friends and how kind of one of them to invite you to live with him. We need to have these connections in our life be it family or friends or both. Otherwise life during our twilight years can be lonely and miserable.
Deletei can only say : Amen to this
DeleteAmen indeed!
DeleteIt is good that your partner's acquaintance realize he is getting dementia soon and is arranging for help from your partner.
ReplyDeleteWe pity him as he had no one to rely on.
DeleteWe have evaluated and considered this kommune care at cheras Sri permaisuri. Good service but too expensive for us so no choice but to select more affordable ones.
ReplyDeleteWe enquired the cost also and I agree, it is not within our means.
DeleteGrowing old is indeed scary...and even scarier if you can't afford nursing care and there's no-one to take care of you. At least your friend has the finances to be well taken care of. I have the entire "When I was a Kid" series. It's light amusement books. I buy them each time a new release comes out! ;)
ReplyDeleteAh! I remember you blogged about the When I Was A Kid series and your are a fan pf Boey hee..hee... I loved this series too although I couldn't get the entire set.
DeleteOur condition in the process of growing old is very unpredictable, even though we know ourselves are trying best to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteWe do the best that we can, that's what I always say, The rest is up to God.
Delete