I was talking to a friend today for a long time. She’d recently been discharged from the hospital. Told her I started blogging again. She was very supportive. She’s been a friend of mine for 8 years now. She was 64 and I was 35 when we first met. She lives with her daughter in the apartment complex I live in. We connected over our common irk towards the current generation.
The first time I met her was during my morning walk. She was walking her dog, Naruto, and I was, well, just walking myself. She was an energetic, loud, extrovert. It was instant attraction since I am an introvert. She told me about her dog, her late husband, her late mom-in-law, her wonderful daughter and her newest grandchild. We walked in matching pace (much to the dismay of her dog), drank coconut water near the park, and went home. Me, to a day of office work and her to her retired life.
She has many friends. She used to host kitty parties, loves gossip meets and always had time for her friends. She loves to cook. Pre COVID, every Friday, she brought me some sweet she’d cooked, badhusha, sheera, halwa, phirni. She turned 72 this month. She had a small party with her friends, and her family had arranged a small dinner. She smiled sadly as she said this.
She’d developed a heart condition after COVID. Despite this, she is always a beacon of positivity. She told me to watch Devara in Netflix. She liked the movie. She told me that the apartment’s cat has found a new boyfriend (very observant!). She told me something else that keeps me thinking. “Make friends while you can. Make friends when you’re sure they will not disappear any time soon.” I asked her what she meant. She told me that she’d lost 3 of her friends to COVID and her close friend passed away last month. I knew I won’t be able to utter the right words to comfort her. I just sat with her, placed a hand over her shoulders.
She immediately changed subjects and asked about my blog to cheer me up. I knew what she was doing and just went along with it. I could not imagine this shining light of a woman being lonely. I could not help but think about my own mom. She too is a beacon of positivity.
I just felt like sharing this. Let me know your thoughts. What do you think we can do to alleviate the loneliness the aging population goes through?
Spicy Rasam 