96. Getting old (Listen and Read)

My grandfather is getting old.

When I was younger, my grandfather would carry me on his shoulders,

and we would go for a walk.

Now, my grandfather cannot put me on his shoulders.

He has a hard time walking, and he uses a cane.

My grandfather used to have lots of hair.

Now he is bald.

His skin doesn't look like it used to.

It is more wrinkled.

My grandfather takes more naps than he used to.

He goes to the doctor's, and takes pills for his heart.

I love my grandfather very much.

I don't like the fact that he is getting older,

but my mother says that growing older is just a fact of life.

She says that we will all get older.

Sometimes my grandfather forgets things.

My mother says to be patient.

I am patient.

I try to help my grandfather as much as I can.

I sometimes go for walks with him.

I help him to walk when he has trouble.

I cheer him up if I think he might be sad.

I get things for him, and I even read to him at night.

He used to read to me when I was little.

Now his eyesight is bad,

and he can't see very well.

My grandfather tells me stories about when he was a boy.

The world was a very different place then he tells me.

His stories are interesting.

Sometimes I wish we could trade places for a day

so that I would know what it felt like to be old.

My grandfather doesn't complain.

He jokes about his old bones.

I spend a lot of time with my grandfather.

I hope that he is around for a long time.