UP
TO THE SKY
By
Bryan Keohane, ADPC
One
of the great joys of life is meeting and getting to
know people. I've always been fascinated by the uniqueness
of individuals and being in the Activities profession
is giving me ample opportunity to meet the best and
the brightest every day.
Of
course I'm talking about the residents, don't misunderstand,
my colleagues are wonderful but it's the residents who
have captured my heart and soul. Being with the residents
has given me great insight into our elderly population.
Recently
at a seminar I attended on the aging process the speaker
asked us to give her single words that describe getting
old. Depression, loneliness, pain, fear, loss, incontinence,
confusion; it turned out to be a pretty bleak list.
Driving
home from the seminar I couldn't get that negative list
of words out of my head, thinking I want nothing to
do with getting old! Suddenly, I realized that the all
those negative words were used to describe the residents
that I can't wait to be with everyday!
If
asked to use one word descriptions for my residents
these words instantly come to mind; courageous, appreciative,
proud, intelligent, funny, honest, worldly. So, what
happened, why didn't I use those words the first time?
I got swept away by a big wave of negative perception
regarding the elderly. I let my residents down. Sure,
the negative list is real, but the positive list is
also real.
I've
come to realize that the residents have the remarkable
ability to balance the past, present, and future. One
resident that I have come to know, Mary, often talks
about her late husband "her Irish tenor, a real
sweet man"; Mary also loves to talk about her brothers
and her grown children. Recently Mary's son and his
wife adopted two young boys from Russia and Mary couldn't
be happier about the new additions to her family! Mary
told me the boys call her Nanny and one day as they
were leaving after a visit the boys said, "we love
you Nanny!". When Mary asked them how much, one
of the boys said "we love you up to the sky Nanny"!
Mary could reflect on a beautiful past, enjoy living
in the moment and be thankful to see a promising future
developing for her grandchildren.
I
understand now, the residents I'm so fortunate to know
have not lived, loved, or learned. They are living,
loving, and learning. And thankfully for me, sharing.
The
other evening after walking Mary back to her room following
a Bingo game, I thanked Mary for playing and wished
her a good night. As I was leaving, Mary said wait a
minute I need to tell you something. I walked over to
her, Mary gently touched my arm, looked me right in
the eyes and with a soft smile and caring tone said
"up to the sky."
NN
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