I guess the saddest thing I have ever seen was when I had to do some charity work for a school thing.

I volunteered at a care home for the elderly and it was fairly depressing for most of the week but it kind of all came to a head for me on the last day I was supposed to work there.

There was very elderly woman there in here late 90’s with dementia and part of my duties were to feed the residents that needed to be fed.

The whole experience started sad when I saw the beaming look in her eyes when she saw the modest pudding she had been given. To see such innocent excitement from something so small come from this woman only highlighted how empty her life must have been.

So I started to spoon-feed her this pudding and she was eating it well enough, but all the while she kept asking me when her son was coming to visit her again. Her son had actually died from a heart attack a few years previously, but because of her condition she had forgotten he had died. So I just had to tell her he was visiting ‘later on’ I choked up a bit each time I lied to her. She must have asked about 5 or 6 times when he was coming.

After she stopped asking about her son and I had finished feeding her this pudding she looked me dead square in the eyes and said in all sincerity ‘Thanks a lot Mum’ (means mom Americans). The fact that she was such a broken woman she actually thought I was her mother feeding her just brought it home to me the amount of human tragedy that lies in age. I just kissed her forehead and said ‘That’s ok Love’

Other highlights of the week included people just like you and me, weeping into porridge bowls and forgetting the names of their husbands and wives they have loved for decades.

So I will conclude that from this experience age is one of the saddest things of all, especially when I heard some of the incredible things some of the residents had done in their lives. Watching humans rot in front of your eyes is difficult.

Cliffs

*Worked at care home for a school week

*Had to spoonfeed old lady with dementia

*Kept asking me when her dead son was visiting because she had forgotten he died

*She called me mum when I had finished. (I’m a dude, that’s how ****ed up she was)

*Entire home was full of misery

*Once proud and productive people rotting before my eyes

*Age = Sadness