Nurture Family Elders

They carried the burden of caring for your family and leading it to better times. Now it's your turn to dote on them.

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An Imperative All Should Heed

Who are the elders in your family? The obvious answer is that they are your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and eldest cousins -- basically, any relative who's getting up in years. But that doesn't really answer the question, does it? In a well-grounded family, there is a big difference between being elderly and being an elder.

Elders are the storytellers, the cooks, the jokesters, the historians, the authorities, the knitters, the Scrabble champions, the raconteurs, the workhorses, the nurturers. They are the people we respect and turn to for answers and perspective, thanks to their many years of life. Most of all, they are the people who raised you and your loved ones and helped you grow into the people you are. For several decades, they carried the burden of caring for your family and leading it to better times. Now it's your turn to dote on them. Ensuring the welfare of our elders should come as naturally to us as raising our children.

Unfortunately, too many people take their parents' and grandparents' ability to care for themselves for granted. And in a country where so many of us live hundreds of miles from our families, looking after loved ones can be difficult to accomplish remotely. Even so, you should make sure your loved ones are taken care of no matter where they live, and try to look after any seniors living alone in your neighborhood, too. Taking responsibility for the venerable elders in our society is an imperative we all should heed. It's the mark of a decent, caring citizenry.
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