It’s funny to reflect on how things in our society have changed.  Take the way we treat the sick and elderly.  A century ago, we kept them at home almost like we had to hide them; then we pawned them off on institutions; and now we’re starting to keep them at home again, but in the name of better care.

For example, my grandfather just turned 96, and is pretty much incapable of caring for himself anymore.  Rather than putting him in assisted living or the nursing home-like section of the retirement home where he lives, my mom and her brother and sister arranged for him to have in home care all the time.  He gets to stay in his own home, where he feels most comfortable and secure, but his family also gets the peace of mind of knowing that he’s being cared for by someone educated in things like fall prevention home care and nutrition for older adults.

A generation previously, though, things were different.  When my grandfather’s mother was aging, she was put into a nursing home, and he rarely visited her.  It’s almost like once the nursing home was there to take care of her, he was relieved of the responsibility.  There was no companion homemaker training or even elder abuse resources, for that matter.  Illness and old age were for other people to deal with — safely away from the home.

Yet one generation before, things were again completely different.  My mom tells about my great-grandmother on her mom’s side, nursing her brother while he died of cancer.  She didn’t put him into a hospital or nursing home, but she didn’t hire other people to care for him, either.  Illness and old age were simply dealt with in the home — a fact of life but also a private matter.

As society changes, the way we handle major life events such as death and dying also changes.  I just think it’s interesting to look back and see just how it has changed!

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