Memories of grandparents
1
A friend is forever
Old age held a surprise for her: finding again a childhood friend. The story of Mrs Elena and Mrs Clotilde.
Mrs Elena is a sunny, kind woman, quick with a joke and always with a smile on her lips. It is not easy to find people with this spirit, despite their age and the hardships of living in a care home. Old age, however, also held a lovely surprise for her: she found again an old friend from childhood and work, Mrs Clotilde.
When I take Mrs Elena for a walk, I like to bring her to her friend. Once, intrigued by this friendship, I asked her: “but what did you two get up to when you went out together as young women?”.
Mrs Elena’s answer was peremptory: “we got up to all sorts of mischief!”. Although I have insisted with the two of them several times, I never managed to get them to tell me what they used to get up to together; but perhaps some things are better kept a secret between friends…
A friend is forever
2
In small homes like Villa Teruzzi — a little more “human”, if I may say so, than the large care homes with hundreds of residents — people often come from the same town, have worked in the same firms and share bonds of friendship. A small reconstruction of the Concorezzo community where, if you are lucky, you can even find again old friends you thought you had lost.
Some things are better kept a secret between friends…
I would not mind, in my old age, finding again my long-time friends with whom I shared secondary school, university and the most carefree moments of my life, and telling the younger generations — looking my friends in the eye with a knowing glance — about that time when…
Collected by Riccardo Beretta · AVO Concorezzo volunteer