Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Sharing Life

We all remember one of the most popular shows on television a few years back The Golden Girls. The show broke new ground by focusing on female characters over 50, something that had never been attempted on television before that time. It debunked the idea that life after 50 is a world of inactive dullness. And, along the way, it managed to garner fans in all age groups.

            The reason we loved the characters is because they made us laugh, but also because they lived life with gusto even when they, like all of us, faced some harsh realities along the way. But the great thing was that they supported each other while sharing the joys and pains of life.

            Statistically, women live longer than men with the result that many women find themselves widowed in their later years. Others experience the bitter adjustment thrust on them by divorce and have to face life on their own. Many of these women live alone and would find the idea of sharing living quarters farfetched, but some are willing to study the idea more closely these days. One reason is that our society if forcing us to adjust creatively to life. And having another person under the same roof offers numerous advantages, especially in large cities where many women face loneliness and fear. But the idea is far from new.

            While I was growing up, in that period of time my children refer to, more or less tongue in cheek, as the pre-important age, it was quite common for women to have a boarder. One older lady my family knew had three boarders to fill the empty rooms of her large house after her husband passed away. One of them, a single female schoolteacher, ended up living in the house for 20 years, right until the old lady died. The two became close friends despite their age difference. They shared life.

            I wonder if many of us do not sometimes forget to share life which could offer a whole new dimension to friendship and evolve to a level of family closeness.