Little Old People

When it comes to the various stages of getting old, I have many opinions about older people that are clearly defined by their attitude about life in general. We have the “newbie” who has just acquired the title of old and is struggling to accept it. Then again, we have the “senior citizen” who is actively in pursuit of all the benefits it has to offer, like discounted meals and tickets, as well as group bus tours and Bingo night.

We also have our “elders.” This group came into being when someone accidentally misspelled older and everyone who was getting old jumped at the chance to regain their self-respect. Elder also means a person of higher authority and a respected member of the group, so we can easily understand their desire to be an elder instead of just older, even if they didn’t do anything to deserve the title.

Aging is a progressive condition from which there may be an occasional reprieve, but there is never any permanent cure. It is important to determine what stage an old person is in so you will know how to deal with them. There are many different stages of growing old so we have chosen only one of the more important ones to examine in detail. 

When it comes to getting old one thing for sure: if their health holds up, eventually they make it to the “little old people” stage. This is the stage where they all start to shrink, hence the phrase “little old people.”

They have stopped listening long ago to their mother telling them to stop slouching and sit and stand up straight, so they lose a couple of inches due to poor posture. Add the loss of bone mass and muscle tone to this stooped over frame, and the shrinking continues as they begin to lose their battle with gravity. Throw in a badly fitting pair of dentures that can result in a poor diet, and they shrink even faster. There you have it, one little old person.

What I really like about little old people is the fact that, after they survive all those other stages of becoming old, they get back their sense of humor. Not only that, they develop a greater appreciation of the little things in life. At this stage of the process of getting older, there is one more thing they can usually be counted on to have regained. That would be patience.

As I begin to form my opinions about little old people, and including in that opinion the many words of wisdom they have bestowed upon me, I can see that the wisest of them had great patience. As I delve deeper into my search for the qualities needed to have wisdom, patience is becoming high on my list. Let’s face it. If we offer someone some wisdom, it is never wise to say “I told you so” too soon. We must learn to be patient.

Another thing I have noticed is how little old people deal with the facts. Notice I was wise enough not to confuse facts with the "truth." When we share what we know with them, they simply add it to what they already know, and then make a minor adjustment to their opinion on the subject. Seldom do we completely change their mind on anything. It would be good for us to remember at this point, that they didn’t survive as long as they have by being stupid.

It only takes us a little while to figure out that, for them the truth really is just a shared opinion. Not only that, unless we ask them what they know that we don’t, we’ll never be as wise as they are right now. It’s a good thing they have the patience to simply wait until we wise up and ask them for a little advice. That is, right after they say “I told you so”, and just before they treat us like a child.
(Go to Reddit-PersonalWisdom)