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Cabrera, Mary Geanellie M. Sem III
2-G Dr. Piscos
The Image of God (Reflection Paper: Outreach Program with the
Elders)
An experience that is enriching, vibrant, and overwhelming will
never be
forgotten. Aristotle quoted that Learning is an ornament in
prosperity, a refuge in
adversity, and a provision in old age. And with this quote, I
would love to share my
inspiring experience with the elders.
I have come to talk with a few. I started to talk with Nanay
Prudencia, a very
delightful, always smiling and talkative woman. Despite her old
age, she never failed to
fancy me. She was very good in Math and like all others, she had
dreams, dreams that she
was not able to achieve. Nanay Prudencia is from Cebu. It was
very heartwarming
because she was very interested in our conversations even if she
could not see me
(cataracts in both eyes). We did not talk about sad stories
because I firmly believed that
Dr. Piscos gave us that opportunity to talk to them to make them
happy and to not despair
them. Nanay held my hand, she had mistaken me as another
student, thanking me that I
came back for her, leading to protestations of happiness because
she had someone to talk
to, a young student like me. She told me about her birthday,
about my age, and our
difference. I have come to love her because she was attentive
and she reminded me of my
grandmother who is already deceased. That sense of care, that
sense of interest, comfort,
happiness that only they can give. She was not ready to let me
go, her grip tightened
when I was about to leave, and I stood beside her to still
continue talking to her. It soon
sunk in that she was old and all she could do is to relive the
moments of her childhood,
the moments that made her happy, excited, calm, and peaceful.
She never forgets God,
saying that God is the reason that she is still strong and
happy. How can I be saddened
when this beautiful creature is living her life to the fullest
by enjoying her simple life?
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The jolliest and nosiest of them all would be Lolo Melencio. I
saw Lolo Melencio
sitting with the women, playing cards with one of them, singing
with us. A very funny
man, indeed. One thing that struck me the most is when he
introduced his cat to us. If I
can remember, the cats name is Monay and it has a garter around
its neck. Lolo
Melencio does not like sitting with men because he finds them
boring and always
frowning. He believes that laughter makes lives longer because
it reduces stress. Our
conversation lasted for almost 30 minutes. He talked about his
childhood, more
specifically his regretsregrets for being a very disobedient
child in his days. I was able
to grasp his regrets, and it made me think thatI have a life
ahead of me, and I would not
like to disappoint my parents. I love them more than anything. I
have to thank this man.
Wisdom is indeed useful to us younger generations.
But let me share this odd experience I had with another old
woman, she was
grumpy but that did not stop me from liking her. She was very
happy when I was joking
about liquors, food, and gifts. She told me that she likes
alcohol, more specifically, gin. It
was not new to me because in our province, old women love to
drink alcohol and my
grandmother was one of them. After joking about alcohol and
after telling her that
alcohol is bad for her health, she became grumpier and she
stopped talking to me. I left
but returned again after 10 minutes. She was eating her food.
After eating her food, she
saw that her seatmate was not able to finish the food. She took
it and ate it. Her other
seatmates were in disbelief. And they told her Masama ang sobra.
Lola did not stop
eating and instead mocked them by showing them that she was
enjoying her food. This
shows that still, some elders are very stubborn, not thinking
about their health as long as
they are being satisfied with food.
The last that I talked to was in pain even though she was
showing me that shes
fine. She told me that her children left her. Actually, it was
very difficult to see if it was
sadness or apathy. She never smiled, she did not talk that much,
and she was very uneasy.
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Its like her comfort zone is being alone. How can some children
let their parentsbe like
her? Toiling hard to give them the education that they need,
doing household chores for
them and yet leaving them. This is very disheartening. Parents
are priceless beings. I am
taking pains in writing this because I can feel for her. I will
never leave my parents no
matter what.
If theres one thing to learn, it is this as long as God is the
center of the family,
nothing could go wrong. God is our Father. He does not want us
to be in misery, despair
or loneliness. He made us next to His image. Applying this in
the experience I had, I am
sure that God is hurt when we reject Him. Being a father, even
if we reject Him, He is
still waiting and willing to receive us if we ever find through
ourselves that we would
want to go back to Him. God is our savior. God is a parent. And
every parent has an
unconditional love to give. A love that no other person in your
life can equate to.
