BLISSFUL IN BLESS HOMES

Retirement home? What’s that?

I’d have asked two decades back.

Today I stand at the threshold of Bless Homes,

Wondering what lies within there for me..

Will it be peace, fun and happiness ahead

Like what my friend Mallika had said?

At this juncture my memory scans

images of the visual and verbal expressions,

of my siblings and close friends,

questioning the need of my decision.

“Why go there, we are here for you?”

They had said with some apprehension.

Yes, everyone is there for me, I know…

and gratitude for that I do owe,

to all of them and to God.

But shouldn’t I avoid becoming a burden

in my twilight years, till the fall of the last curtain?

Gone are the days of large families

when all stayed together and could support each other.

With life’s pace speeded up,

and everyone having their own races to run

it is unjust to make yourself a hindrance

and topple the priorities of the next generation.

Our lives have reached the fag end,

but the younger ones are on the way to make their ascent.

Love is…… Understanding their needs.

It is not as if you are cutting off the bonds..

Love is….not just staying together.

Love is caring for the needs of each other.

The assurance that you are safe and your needs taken care of,

is a relief for loved ones of not being with you and thereof.

Proximity is not just another word for caring

Being dependent and a burden is despairing.

So I will be here, may be for the rest of my life…

Hoping that the sunset years will be free of life’s strife