Visit your ageing parents more often.
Or they’ll keep your memory alive through stories they tell strangers.
I can’t tell you how many times an older person has struck up a conversation with me. Usually, it starts with a comment about my kids. “You have beautiful children,” they say. The interaction usually never stops there.
I’m quite aware that some people are up to no good but I can sense when that’s not the case. You can tell when a person simply needs connection. I usually get a follow up statement like, “My daughter was just like that.” or “My son loved to jump around too.” I can see the longing in their eyes. It’s no longer my kids they're seeing but their own as if going back in time.
They relive moments of their lives through my children. It might sound strange to some, but I understand it. Like the moments when I see a newborn and think, awww, I remember when my kiddo was that little. You get shifted into another place and time. It’s no different when I come across moms and dads who are now up in age telling me stories of when their kids were little.
At the laundry last week, an older lady came up to me and told me how precious my kids were. I saw her glance at us a few times, but she finally mustered up the courage to talk to me. I asked her if she had children and she said one, a daughter. She revealed she hadn’t seen her…
