I Have Two New Oumas

This morning our choir sang at a retirement village. We did our entire Christmas programme, and I have to say, we put as much energy into it this time as we did for the whole community last week. These precious people are so wonderful.

I think it must be difficult to grow old, to feel as if the world has passed you by, forgotten you, or worse, discarded you as no longer relevant or valuable. If the only thing you have to look forward to are craft lessons and water aerobics, that would be a lonely existence indeed. But I know - I KNOW - that as long as we still have life and breath, God still has a plan and purpose for us.

So today I was honoured to sing for some wonderful people, and afterwards I spent time talking to several of them. The trouble is... they were Afrikaans-speaking Oumas, so I had to work really hard to say the simplest of sentences. They were so sweet and understanding, and two of them even adopted me. One of them was sure to repeat several times that she stays in "kamer nommer agt op die derde vloer," so I won't forget to "kom kuier." I told her I would be in the States for Christmas, maar wanneer ek terugkom sal ek kom kuier. And I meant it, too.

I think we need to slow down more often and listen to the wealth of wisdom and experience older people possess. A cup of tea, an hour or two, and time stands still, mesmerised by the most amazing life stories.