Ageing a challenge we all have to face in our lifetimes

Sarah Van Der Kley and Martin Good.

Age is a funny thing. We spend our earliest years trying to grow up as fast as we can.

We can't wait until we can go to school, go on the "big kid" rides, cycle down the street by ourselves, drive a car and leave home.

Once we've achieved that we look onward to the next challenge, the next step to keep our lives going forward until suddenly we are old and look back at what we used to be able to do.

I had the privilege over the past week of spending some time with my grandparents.

There's my granny who's in her mid 80s and has a few health issues, but after she's taken her slew of pills each morning goes on with her day, usually doing things for others.

My granddad, in his early 90s, who gets up late each day and then sleeps on his chair for the rest of it. His mind is still going strong but his body is failing him.

And my grandmother, who now lives her days in the dementia ward of a retirement home.

It had been some time since I'd seen grandma; the last time she was succumbing to the disease of Alzheimer's but still had moments of clarity which led to huge amounts of confusion for her.

And a lot of pain for us. It's hard to see a woman who is so intelligent and strong, so put together, no longer know what feet to put her shoes on or understand why she has put the milk in the dishwasher.

That's no longer the case. She's at the point now that she doesn't really know who you are and often thinks she is a young girl again.

But without the knowledge of what she once was, she is happy.

She has a best friend in the nursing home and they walk around together, hand in hand, content just to be in each other's company.

We spend our whole lives looking forward but who knows what will happen when we get there?

Perhaps our minds will go or our bodies will no longer function the way we want them to.
Or maybe we'll be like a lovely lady I deliver meals on wheels to each week who is 92 but as sprightly as a 60-year-old.

We just don't know.

So the best thing we can do is stop looking forward so much, stop yearning for things we don't have or can't afford, and appreciate what we've got while we've still got it.

- Don't miss Martin Good and Sarah Van Der Kley on The Hits Hawke's Bay from 6am to 9am Monday to Friday.