One more day

Old people can be annoying.

Oversharing. Overbearing. Conversations that go nowhere about "the good ol days". They'll hold you hostage with stories about people you'll never meet and places that don't exist anymore. Always wanting to be involved in everything and offering unsolicited advice.

Stubborn as hell and stuck in thinking patterns they formed 50 years ago. Sometimes negative and cynical which can come across as cruel.

As I've matured (debatable), I've come to understand them a bit more.

They're casualties of a technology moving at breakneck speed. Despite all the amazing things this digital age is bringing, physical interaction appears to be collateral damage. We have a population of people who were already well into their middle age when the internet became mainstream. Many were not prepared for this shift in connectivity. They feel forgotten as things changed quicker than they could adapt. Modern economic landscapes have forced a shift in family dynamics. The physical distance between us keeps expanding as we chase opportunities.

And then theres mortality.

I'm going to assume that like me, many of you, on more than one occasion, have thrown around phrases like "Life's too short" or " Live life to the fullest". Often used when faced with big decisions or that moment just before we do something we're not supposed to.

And while we understand that everyone dies, how many of us really grasp the finality of death?

The average life expectancy, depending on certain variables, is 73 years. My generations parents are there now. For them, it's not a throw away phrase kept at arms length on a night out with friends. It's a fast approaching certainty. They're fighting wars on two fronts.

A world they feel has forgotten them.

And the last frontier.

Every story shared, every photo shown, every question asked is their final defense against irrelevance. They're not trying to annoy you. They're just saying "I'm still here. I still matter."

Every chance to talk, every event attended, is them collecting evidence of human connection. Building a case to show God, the universe and death that they're still part of the living world and have so much to offer. They're not ready to leave and they're not asking for another lifetime.

Just one more day.

So maybe the next time one of them corners us, before we scramble for an excuse, we recognise that they're not trying to waste our time. They're trying buy more of their own as the final curtain falls.

The least we can do is listen. Because someday, we'll be the ones talking too much, desperate for someone to hear our stories before they're gone forever.

And hopefully someone shows us the same patience we're too busy to show today.