Homework #21

Insights:
1. If you always work hard to get something, no matter how long it takes, it will benefit you later in life.
2. Always keep a positive attitude and your life will be filled with more life than without.
3. If you go into details and ask questions, the knowledge you gain can keep you grounded when times are tough.
4. Always give gifts to those who help you; it might give you access to thing you wouldn't have had otherwise.
5. If you treat people with humanity and respect, you will get treated the same way.


When Ms. Bernett described the way her husband looked in his bed after he came home for the last time, it reminded me of the way my grandma looked in her bed. She described him as skeletal and around ninety pounds and had to bring him back and forth to the bathroom which she didn't mind at all. When I went to visit my grandma in the nursing home we had her in, that was exactly what she looked like. At 97 she weighed a total of 89 pounds and had basically no body fat. Her hands looked like bones with skin on them and the rest of her body wasn't much better. When I first saw her that way, it scared me to think that her body would make her end up like this. But after a while I just blamed it on old age and I started to feel slightly better given the circumstances. However, when Ms. Bernett described her husband in the same way, it forced me to realize that it isn't just old age that can turn a person's whole appearance into that of a skeleton. 


Ms. Bernett gave gifts to everyone who helped her and her husband. By doing so, she opened up ties and connections that might not have otherwise been obtained. She showed kindness to people in a workplace that doesn't always get too much of it. During the final year of my grandma's life, she had a caretaker named Regina who would come and visit her from day to day to check up on her and help her out. My grandma and the rest of our  family all treated her like she was part of our family. We visited with her during our visits and went out to dinner with her. Once my grandma was in the nursing home, one would think it unnecessary to have a caretaker, but Regina stuck through. She would talk to the people who worked there and make sure that my grandma was getting the best care the place could provide. She continued to visit regularly when we were back at home even with all of her other jobs and kids. Without her care and hard work, I don't think my grandma might have lived as long as she did. I like to think that Regina did so much for our family because we showed her that we loved her as much as she loved us and we constantly showed her how grateful we were for everything. 

The one question I have is "Why does Hollywood romanticize death and illness so often when it only results in false hopes and heartbreak when the real thing actually appears?"