HW 27

Once a month a few members from my church get together to for a little fellowship at the local nursing home in Riverdale. I decided to attend. I hadn’t been to the nursing home in a while, so I felt sort of staring going back. The nurse aids have gathered quite a few senior citizens in the nursing homes cafeteria before we arrive. As we walk in we greet the old ladies and gentlemen. We come with baskets of muffins for them. They seem delighted to see our faces. I notice they are a very diverse group. Some are in wheelchairs others have walkers. Throughout the service nurse aids continue to quietly rolling more of the elderly in. Many of them are smiling and singing along to the songs being played for them on the guitar while others, mostly the men have dosed off.

After the service I greeted and handed out muffins to everyone. They all thanked us for coming and how they look forward to seeing us every month. It made me glad that I went. I also offered to push an elderly woman back to her room before I left. She was elated at the offer. I couldn’t help but smile with her as she directed me to her room. She thanked me for the muffins and said she would enjoy them later.On the way to her room I initiated a little conversation with her. I asked how she came to end up at the nursing home, she said after her knee replacement surgery (which she still takes medication for) that confined her to the wheelchair, there was no one to care for her so the nursing home was the only choice. I asked if she ever received visitors, she replied no. She told me that she and her husband never had any children and after he died, she was the only one left. I felt sad for her. She was all alone. She did however, say that her friends at the nursing home and her aid have become family to her and she’s very grateful for them. It made me think that she longs for human connections and finds it in the people around her to alleviate her feelings of loneliness. She found comfort in these people,after the loss of her husband.

As I pushed her into her room she asked me to place her near the window where she likes to look out into the garden and read her bible which she says gives her strength. I thanked her for talking to me and gave her a hug. It surprised me that I was hugging her, but it just felt like the natural response. I noticed she was hugging me tightly, which made me sad to pull away because I knew I’d been her only visitor outside of the nursing home.

This woman reminded me of Morrie's outlook on life in "Tuesdays with Morrie" in the sense that even though I felt sad for her she didn't seem sad at all. It seemed like she had come to terms with her situation. She had a smile on her face the entire time I was with her and didn't complain about anything and spoke well of the relationships she's made in the nursing home which seemed important to her. Just like in "Tuesday's with Morrie" where the relationships he had with people and the love he received and gave out mattered to him. He also never complained about his condition or allowed himself to drown in sadness.