Personal Insights: We may be elderly but Covid has not removed our hunger for life
Old age has come at a really bad time but it is so important not to discard or segregate the elderly in our society. We must continue to have them as a vital part of our lives.
We, like all others, have a hunger for live experiences, of being in the moment intermingling in a new environment with different energy.
This stimulates our bodies minds and souls but we are at home, staring out the window, watching screens, zooming and texting.
We take the car out to make sure it will start but really it’s to make sure the world is still out there.
We are in a state of patient resignation.
We are bombarded with News. statistics about the spread of the Virus, numbers in Hospital and ICU and then those who have died.
It’s a sad saga day and daily, with predictions of further ‘waves’ before things will improve.
Even the light entertainment shows are full of stories of heartbreak and distress .. we look on helpless as people die, funerals pass on the road and we watch the liturgy on screen. From an empty church.
The passing of Sir Tom Moore brought a reminder to be optimistic. With his maxim of ‘tomorrow will be a good day’ he did his bit to keep the wheels of the NHS working through his fundraising walk in his own garden. It was his family who first included him in in what was happening all around him.
The vaccine too is a bit of a muddle and then it became political and in Brussels bureaucrats bungled about the Border and tensions arose that we thought had been consigned to history.
Speaking of History. We have a centenary commemoration in Co Longford this week of the ambush of Clonfin. Of course it’s all virtual. But it’s important to know your history.
And then we have the brilliant leadership of Sr Maeve Brady, possibly the most active senior citizen in our community – presenting a message of remembrance and reconciliation on those who did die at Clonfin, again online. We should all watch and learn, for if we don’t learn from our past we are bound to repeat it I had a bit of an emergency myself last week. I needed expert help with a blocked drain. Then I remembered Longford Community Call .. so I located the phone number and a very friendly and efficient lady answered and not only gave me the information I required but two phone numbers to call.
It all worked out fine and I’d like thank her and indeed the local firm that came to my rescue with efficiency and courtesy. I thank all who answer our calls for help, assistance, advice and support. Keep up the good work and remember not all our needs come from the supermarket shelf! Post winter there are many maintenance jobs beckoning.
Was it just me or did I really have a massive amount of messages on February 1 about Spring and St Brigid and an lá’dul chun síneadh and a sense of rolling up the sleeves and getting back to work.
Snowdrops are in bloom and promising daffodil spears are appearing all around the garden. And then there's the stretch in the evening.
I recently read all about Darragh Greene who has qualified to take part in the Olympics in Tokyo. He started swimming in Longford swimming pool. I hope he gets to realise his dream and we can all cheer him on!
Right now we are patiently resigned to our fate. We stay at home and keep our distance.
But rest assured, if we get the vaccine and the lockdown is lifted we will be ready to re-join society with energy and enthusiasm.
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