My week of getting old: Sam, 14, Netherlands

I am Sam and I live with my father and stepmother in Bloemendaal. I love spending as much as I can with my grandmother. She lives in the South of the Netherlands, which means I have to travel pretty far by train to see her. On the journey, I read, listen to music and before I know it I am with my granny.

I love her terribly! I can always count on her, share anything with her and she always gives me good advice. If I stay with her for the weekend I know it’s going to be relaxed. We watch a movie together, go to the market and visit friends. We can spend hours playing cards, just the two of us.

Appreciating the small things

My grandpa died ten years ago. This was the hardest part of my grandmother’s life. Losing him hurt her terribly and she still misses him. After that experience, she learnt to appreciate the small things in life, for example, spending an evening with friends or a weekend playing Scrabble.

Grandma volunteers at an organisation that focuses on environmental education. She believes it is important to teach children to appreciate the environment and treat it in a respectful way, whilst playing. They organise events like birthday parties for children where they go to the forest and collect beautiful stones.

Wiser with the years

Grandma is happy with her life just the way it is and likes her age. She has been through a lot. She has known happiness but has also experienced bad things. No longer continuously having high expectations and accepting things just the way they are has become much easier. She says that people get more at ease and wiser with the years.

Grandma thinks that people in other countries like Kenya discover the same thing: You grow to be calm and wise. She thinks that older people there worry a lot about things like poverty, health and education. We of course worry about the same things but on a different level.

If I discuss something difficult with my grandma she knows how to make me see things differently or help me make difficult decisions. It really helps me to have someone I trust truly in my life. My grandmother is a very wise woman... Maybe we should make the most of all our wise grandmothers and grandfathers.

Advice

When I asked my grandmother what advice she would give me, she said I should always take care of myself and be social. “You will then receive a lot of love,” she said. Also she said that it is important to work hard to get a good education. If I do, I can achieve big things but also do the things I really love in life. Then, when I am my grandma’s age, I’ll be satisfied.

If Grandma was to decide, life would basically be the same for everyone. It would be a good, natural life with enough food for all of us and good health for everyone. Grandma says that young people nowadays are much more social and more open to contact.

If it were up to me, I would enjoy everything my grandmother can teach me and spend time with her for the next 100 years!