Life force
That's my cousin RemRem (short for Ralph Emmanuel) age 2 and my great-grandmother Lola Pi (for Sophia) age 84. As a kid, I was the one who gave her that nickname and she has been called by no other name since. She was the one who babysat me during my toddler years and RemRem is very lucky to receive the same special treatment I had twenty years ago. (Did I just say twenty?) But with the help of another yaya because at her prime age, you can't really expect her to have the same stamina she had before. And as you may notice, he's quite a big kid for his age. Not to mention, energetic. Here's a video of him singing.
There's really no special reason why I posted their photos here. I just liked the (probably unintended) concept of contrast with regards to their appearance and age: Young vs. Old. We consider aging to be a slow process because we rarely notice the transformation. But last night when I said:
It occurred to me that although it only seemed like yesterday when we welcomed 2010, it is already 1/12 finished. Just another period that short and it'd be 1/6 thru. (I'd go on with the math but you get the point.) So it won't really be a surprise if you wake you up tomorrow and it's already 2011. (and the next thing you know, it's the end of the world!) And this is yet another proof of how fleeting our existence is. And no, I won't go on talking about the value of life and all that crazy stuff. I just liked the picture.
P.S. I read somewhere that the reason the elderly are drawn to young children is because the life force of the old is waning whereas that of the young is very full and overflowing; and somehow, some of this energy radiates between them giving the old a slight taste of youth once more. I believe that.