America has esteemed individualism to the point that now not even family matter, especially not grandparents and extended family (and enough people have, for decades at least, been sticking even aging parents into abusive old folks homes to forget about them). It's generally expected that it's ok to betray friends for loved ones, because you gotta marry and have those kids, and your friends are expected to still be there even though you brush them off but he might not be. And even then roughly half (exact numbers hotly debated) end in divorce (and even a few of those who stick together don't do so lovingly), and as someone once asked, "Would you fly if half of the flights crashed?" So with that in mind, of course that pic comes off as surprising.
Though I expect it happens more often than people realize (just how many pose to get their picture taken at a moment like that?).
When my granny was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism I sold off some of my stuff to get a bus ticket back to Texas (well over a thousand miles away, or twice that in kilometers) and then took over her chores (it's a family farm and even she has chores on it), took care of her cats (which sadly others in the family didn't see fit to do), and of course visited her in the hospital and helped her when she got home until she started getting her strength back. My mom, OTOH, whose trailer can be seen from Granny's house didn't do any of that. There's no doubt in my mind that Mom would send Granny (her own mom) to a hellish old folks home the next county over if she ever got the chance. Not that I'm going to let that happen if I get the chance (though she said she'd suicide if she knew that was going to happen, and I don't blame her, I would, too, but then that's why people get sent, so they can be forgotten until their funeral).
•
My granny was very lucky. She lived alone, but had her sister across the street, and one of my Aunts to help her out all the time. I wasnt very helpful, living a couple hundred miles away....I really didnt have the money to be travelling back and forth a lot anyway, but I went when I could. I felt horrible cause there was nothing I could do. Even as sick and old as my granny got, it never occurred to me she would die.
I still feel the emptiness.
•
Im a care assistant for erderly people. I go to there homes, not "a home" and help with daily tasks.
Considering were all living longer now, we should be concerned how we are to be looked after when/if our time comes, theres been some atrocious storys on the news just recently about abuse and neglect in care homes that makes me so mad i want to bring back public execution, ok i’ll read the story now.
•