This morning we heard the news that one of our neighbours had died. She was 97 when she died and spent basically every day of her life until today wandering up the road to her garden to weed, pick off caterpillars and harvest far too many vegetables than the family could eat. She would always chat for a bit on her way past our house and was totally "with it", a real character in this tiny hamlet.
She was up at the crack of dawn every morning to go and pray at the family grave and this morning it seems that it was no exception. Only this morning she slipped on the way and fell down a steep bank and was found at the bottom a few hours later by her very worried daughter-in-law who was trying to find her for breakfast. She was one of the lucky ones in this area in that she lived with her family. There are so many elderly living alone in this area and so many fears about what would happen if something happened to them. The traditional Japanese arrangements of having many generations under one roof is definitely changing - not necessarily for the better.....
She was up at the crack of dawn every morning to go and pray at the family grave and this morning it seems that it was no exception. Only this morning she slipped on the way and fell down a steep bank and was found at the bottom a few hours later by her very worried daughter-in-law who was trying to find her for breakfast. She was one of the lucky ones in this area in that she lived with her family. There are so many elderly living alone in this area and so many fears about what would happen if something happened to them. The traditional Japanese arrangements of having many generations under one roof is definitely changing - not necessarily for the better.....
Thats so sad. But 97! Wow. Thats a good innings. It was so cold today. I hope she didn't suffer.
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