What do we lose when we think of the elders in our community primarily as problems?

This summer a research project led me to the population projections through 2035 that the UMass Donahue Institute has created for every city and town in Massachusetts. This resource is a great example of public science, with an interactive website that can satisfy any citizen's curiosity and detailed data sets that can aid local governments and public service organizations.  The projections for each age group show clearly the aging of our communities, with the percentage of seniors rising to 18% in Boston and to 25-35% in towns in the northeast, the southeast, and out on the Cape.

Most discussions of population aging focus on the ways that it will stretch the resources of our retirement funds, health care system, and the time and energy of the younger generation. All of these practical concerns are real and will require our determination and our creativity. My mother has significant health issues, so I know well the challenges of the sandwich generation.

I also know that she and other seniors have a lot to give us, in time and love and perspective. Having more elders in our community could be an opportunity for us to learn more about the aging process, to build stronger safety nets, to design more effective care. Most of all, it can teach us to value people not for their physical prowess or their economic utility, but for their unique selves. We can grow in our compassion for others, and perhaps make the world a kinder place for ourselves when it's our turn to be the old ones.