the value of connection
I’m learning more and more that our senior community are the keepers of the stories. You don’t get to eighty plus years without creating a rich tapestry of experiences. Maybe it’s travel and adventure, accomplishments and failures, children and grandchildren or deep love and painful loss, whatever it is that weaves the tapestry must now be shared or taken to their graves.
We all need connection, but for our seniors, as their worlds can sometimes become smaller and their family members are often spread all over the world, connection becomes vital for emotional, mental and physical health, independence and quality of life. The world pandemic has added the obstacle of fear, anxiety and feeling especially vulnerable for some. To have someone assist in assuaging some of those fears is essential.
For years, researchers have been digging deep into areas like the Italian village of Tiana, Sardinia. Tiana is one of the places that has three times the centenarians than mainland Italy. When exploring why this has come to be, they found that social connection was the best marker for long life, sharp minds and independence. These people traditionally live in multigenerational homes with the youngest taking care of the oldest and the oldest sharing their traditions, stories and wisdom with the rest of the family providing great purpose.
The Centenarians dominating one region of Sardinia - CNN Health
In North America, it is less common for this kind of arrangement. We tend to rely heavily on retirement homes. Although current trends of creating shared space between daycare facilities and nursing homes are based on similar logic. This model creates an environment that encompasses the full circle of life.
A Hopeful Model for the Future of Aging - Ted
I wish I understood this more when I was younger and still had my grandparents in my life. They held all of the stories of our family which they passed on to my Mom. When we spend time together, I slowly collect these stories from her while leafing through photo albums and family trees. I ask a lot of questions about her childhood, how she met my Dad and her dreams. Through it all I am gaining a whole new appreciation for this precious shared time and how mutually enriching it is.
This week at Wild Honey….
We help showcase and list an apartment on Air BnB filled with art and theatre collectibles. We drive through the country to a farm from a client’s past on a nostalgia tour. We set up a home office with new devices and we throw an intimate gathering for a big birthday on the back deck with heaters and hot soup!
