'Feature Friday': The Greatest Generation

I went to an Alzheimer's Disease conference this week in Springfield, Illinois and while it was very interesting and informative,  it was also very sad. We still don't have any concrete answers on how to prevent or cure the disease. There is so much research and yet so few answers. There are so many people I care about, including my own grandpa who have the disease and very little hope of a cure in their lifetime.

My passion for the elderly, more specifically, the elderly with memory loss began when I was 19. My sister-in-law worked in a nursing home on the dementia unit and invited me to volunteer there with her. I'll admit, before interacting with the elderly, my initial thought of people with Alzheimer's was that they were scary people who had conversations with those who they could see and no one else could. But when I got there I realized that they were some of the sweetest people I had ever met and I really enjoyed them a lot! I fell in love with their population so much that I decided that was the population I wanted to work with as a career. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Recreation Therapy with my focus being in geriatric care.

I have been volunteering and working in various older adult care settings for about 7 years now and still have a great passion for the elderly. Their generation has such a wonderfully unique perspective because they have lived through so much history in their lifetime and have a higher moral standard than other generations since. I have learned so much from them. Life lessons that are priceless.

I have said this before but it is true...it will be a very sad day when the last of this beautiful generation are gone because they have been inspiring for decades and they are a unique breed of people that unfortunately will one day reach obsolescence. The phrase "they don't make 'em like they used to" could never be more true in this case. I admire every last one of these sweet elderly folks and will appreciate them as much and as often as I can.

And YES! I LOVE THE GOLDEN GIRLS!!! :)