We are confined and sometimes older and younger live in the same house and from this forced coexistence we must take advantage. As the government has said, there are essential jobs and tasks and one of them is talking to the elderly. Sometimes in the home the elderly isolate themselves or feel that they are in the way, but we have to show them that they are essential and important, because by talking to them we can learn a lot.
Grandchildren can talk to parents and grandparents, but parents can also talk to their own. Many times I regret not having spoken to mine to ask them about their past and about the things they knew. They are a collection of experiences and knowledge that they are waiting to communicate to their own.
How many of you who read this text know the last names of the grandparents? This is one aspect that we can talk about, that of the family. Getting the start of the family tree. Surely when you ask, without asking any more questions, they will tell you things not only about grandparents, but also about uncles and cousins and other relatives.
We already started by knowing things about our family and if they are from the town or from abroad and if anyone had to emigrate at any time and what they worked on throughout their lives.
Another aspect to talk about is the experiences they acquired in their work or activity and in relation to it how they were formed and if they had easy or difficult learning or what anecdotes they remember at work or in their life, funny or difficult .
Sometimes, between grandmothers and grandparents, confidentiality is established with grandchildren and granddaughters, which is not established with children. There is one thing that has its curiosity without malice, for grandchildren and grandchildren, and that is to know the letters of boyfriends and girlfriends of grandparents and grandmothers as well as old photos that lead us to know aspects of the past. How they had fun on the street or when it rained, which games were the most common. The granddaughters like to see the work that their mothers and grandmothers did at school. Sometimes they can also be taught to sew to both sexes or taught to cook with homemade recipes.
My wife taught ironing to a son who was immersed in ironing his pants. I remember that in the military service they gave us, in uniform, a sewing kit, with a thimble included, in case a button fell out of our shirts.
We must listen to the voices of the past that the elders transmit to us. It is usual when in a family reunion, the grandfather wants to tell something that is cut off saying: we already have the grandfather story or that is grandfather stories. Surely they have been told many times, but at that moment the grandfather or grandmother are recalling facts or things from their youth and we must thank them for being part of the conversation. The life of an older person has a wealth of knowledge that must be known and for this, conversation is the essential element that will also help us to cope with confinement.
The older ones need to tell our experiences and pass the baton to those who succeed us. Talking and connecting is a necessity. But the elderly must also talk to their friends and if they are confined, they can do it with their mobile phones and in this section the grandchildren who know a lot, must teach them how to take advantage of these devices. My grandchildren have taught me how to watch a movie that has already been shown or how to send a message or how to write with smileys alone.
One task of this confined experience could be to build family genealogical trees and reconstruct the stories of our families. Can you imagine a genealogical encyclopedia of Xàbia with notes of the families? I think it would be a momentous task to leave in the Municipal file and to be able to re-discover in 100 years, our experiences of today.
I encourage you to carry out these activities or others, but don't forget that the elderly need the young.
Juan Bta. Bas Codina
Mr. Codina, Juan for friends, although late, I just read this article and, as always, I applaud it. What I feel is that I cannot speak directly to my children or my grandchildren, but I can speak on the phone, which I appreciate very much. And, at least for now, they have not cut me saying that they are things of grandparents. What's more, they tend to like the things I tell them, although, because of the distance that separates us, they see little of them.
Thank you for your beautiful memories and be sure to pass them on to them.