FEATURES; PREPARE FOR YOUR OLD AGE

I was out one sunny day to locate the Residential address of a Client, so I approached a group of bikers swarmed all over the entrance of a junction to ask for direction and possibly give me a ride. But my heart skipped as soon as I realized that almost all of them were old men, supposedly looking rickety and hairs all grey.

With the stitches on my kneels as a result of a motorbike accident that I had almost two decades ago very visible still, the need to be driven by a younger person has never been negotiable. And since I do not have the luxury of having a choice on this day, I unwillingly journeyed along.

 No gainsaying the fact that I was uncomfortable all through the ride as his wrinkled hands maneuvered the grip of the motorbike, his leg doing same on the clutch as he struggled to maintain balance.

These men and many others are a pitiable sight of how old men and women still hustle hard on a daily basis so that they could make ends meet. These are the set of people whom by every standard were supposed to be retired, doing stuffs at their leisure not because their survival depends on it.

 

And if there is anything that scares me stiff; it is growing old to a point when I’ll have to be at the mercy of others to survive. That time when the youthful energy is no more and I will not be able to hustle as I would have wished.

Having more offspring as believed from some quarters is not an investment. And even though it is the wish of every parent to have children that will excel, it is also hard to predict what the future has in stock for the human race. With an unstable Economy that stares at Countries right in the face on a daily basis, who knows if the next generation would be able to grow enough food, not with climate change scare let alone have such affluence to care for their old.

A neighbor died last month at the age of 64. He had spent his entire life earnings to ensure that his six children becomes learned, hoping that they would take him off the shackles of poverty when they grow and become subsequently independent. As life would have it, all of them are presently struggling, barely able to make ends meet let alone fend for their father who died of ill health. They were unable to avail him prompt medical attention that might have saved him.

Old age being the time a once upon a curvy woman gets to bend, tummy all flabby and fattened up and the once agile kneels of a man gets weakened, a blurry vision among other related symptoms. Ageing is however a compulsion for whoever stays till later life. Funnily enough it never happens in a jiffy for those who seemed prepare for it, but it could come all of a sudden for some others who feel they have till forever to stay young. And if the fact that one of the most hardworking women I have ever known, my paternal grandmother becoming vulnerable as she ages is anything to go by, then a latter life is worth reflecting on.

A woman that spent the last decade of her life being unable to walk hence bedridden, so bad that she had to depend on helps to do all of her life activities from feeding to sitting upright, even defecating.

Now, preparing for old age stems right from the days of one’s youth. Financially speaking for instance, as soon as the first set of income starts streaming in, it is not to be squandered.  The decision as a youth determines how the middle age (between 45 and 65 years) would turn and subsequently the latter days.

The daily sight we see of oldies with shaky hands, veins popping out in greens be working odd jobs and other hard labor, like riding motorcycles for a living, molding blocks and are laborers at factory sites is scary. Others are seen selling peasant goods by the road side or hawking goods of less than fifteen dollars in value. Upon questioning, some admitted to being unlucky, life had inadvertently dealt them hard blows. Others had made major and intentional mistakes. All of these are enough to make one cautious of the present dealings.

In Africa, there are relatively fewer or even unavailable facilities for the oldies, like the old people’s homes, ill fated healthcare facility for all let alone for older citizens. Here goes a continent where everyone of us needs to stay guided and constantly think of later years.

Carefully monitor the proceedings of your health too, from the days of your youth against illnesses like cancer, diabetics, high blood pressure, asthma which could increase one's vulnerability too. 

Pension schemes which though are never enough are still advisable. Despite living by the day in this part, poverty being a contributory factor, plans should be in top gear to invest in lifelong investments, that one could fall back on much later. Real estate is one out of the lot. 

Since nothing lasts forever, staying young especially. 

NB;      I’ll advise those of us young people to respectfully favor the old in public queues henceforth, and not totally bargain when faced with those of them that display peasant wares, while we prepare to be a better version of them.