I have to admit that I have been largely spared dealing with the aging process of others. The closest person to me who died was my grandfather and he luckily went quickly for his sake. So the only elderly beings I have had the responsibility of caring for have been my dogs (go ahead laugh now, I know you want to : ). I also have to admit that I am one of THOSE people. Those people who love their dogs so much. When my older Corgi Tucker turned thirteen two years ago he lost the use of his back legs. But he was pretty good at getting himself around for about a year. He sadly passed away last year. A few months ago my other Corgi Talullah lost the use of her back legs. She can still use them a bit and she hobbles around a bit, but it has become really hard. We are trying to get her to use the wheelchair we got Tucker that he never took to, only time will tell.
It is hard to maintain my patience in the face of all the responsibility I have with the kids, the house, and the dogs. But I remind myself how much Lula has given me and how much I want her to have a good quality of life with what time she has left. She will be fifteen years old in December. It is hard to believe that this is my longest relationship, but it is. She has given me far more than she has taken and I cannot imagine a life without her.
It makes me think about all of us growing older and how quickly it all goes by. And it makes me wonder who will take care of us when we get older and who SHOULD do it. American culture doesn't prepare us for dealing with our aging families or even our aging selves. We are a culture that is so youth oriented that we assume none of us will ever be the ones to get old. And when we can no longer care for ourselves, we expect to pay someone to do it. It is a strange dynamic. I am not necessarily saying that families should do all the caretaking either. In fact I have no idea what the "right" thing to do is. I can only hope that I will know when the time comes, for all of the members of my family.
