I know my blog post title sounds like the line from a song, or even a song title (find lyrics and Frank Sinatra Youtube link at end of post), but, actually, I was quoting my niece Katie. Not that Katie meant I made her feel so young – I’m nearly as old (hate that word!) as her mother – even though I’ll admit to being rather happy-go-lucky and young at heart. But no, my beautiful young niece was telling me about one of her experiences as a carer for the elderly in a local care home where she still works…

One of the old gentlemen was called John. He was an eighty-six year old with dementia and had a wife who was twenty years younger and living it up in Spain, America and Barbados, the latter being the country where one of their grown up children now lived. The wife had found it hard to cope with her aged husband’s loss of mental faculty and had seen fit to entrust her husband to the nursing home and the tender care of an even younger woman in the form of Katie. Now my niece, unlike John’s wife, could not afford to go gallivanting around the world, and instead, made the most of her lot and thoroughly enjoyed her job as a carer.

The old fellow, although at a loss in some departments, recognised the true goodness (as well as the beauty) of our lovely Katie and he was smitten.

“Is that an engagement ring?” he asked, spying a ring on the ring finger of her right hand.

“Oh no,” answered Kate, “wrong hand for an engagement ring.”

“In that case would you do me the honour of marrying me?”

“No John,” began Kate, “What about your wife?”

“Wife? Wife? Do I have a wife? Oh, I had quite forgotten that I had a wife already! If only I didn’t have a wife I would ask you to marry me,” the old fellow replied wistfully.

“But, aside from you being married, don’t you think you’re too old for me?” asked Kate.

“How old are you?” asked John.

“Twenty-nine,” answered Kate.

“Well that’s not too outlandish,” said John, “I’m only forty-five!”

“John,” admonished Katie, “You’re all of eighty-six!”

“No! Am I really? Oh dear… but you make me feel so young…”

Katie and some other angels cared for the old gentleman until he left this world last year. I could tell from the look in my niece’s eyes and the smile on her lips as she recounted her story that John had enriched her life as much as she had enriched his. Now if he, too, could see that smile wouldn’t he be a happy individual?

You Make Me Feel So Young (Frank Sinatra – with Lyrics …