Before departing for spring break, my group and I visited the assisted living home, since we wouldn’t be there for two weekends in a row. It was a tad snowy, and the roads weren’t great, but we knew that we needed to be there for the women of the home. Whenever we can’t make it to visit them and spend some quality time with them, they miss us and ask about us. Sometimes they even worry that we may not be coming back. Of course, we don’t want to cause them this kind of stress, so we try to stay as committed to visiting as regularly as possible.

We ordered our Uber and began our venture to Elmcroft. As soon as we walked into the assisted living home, the receptionist in the front lobby greeted us with a vibrant smile as she always does. She guided us to the heart of the home where the group living rooms and lounges were. We then went our separate ways- some visiting individual women and some ready to continue working on the establishment of the library.

To my pleasant surprise, Marge (whom I mentioned in an earlier blog post) was back from the hospital and comfortably in her room at Elmcroft. Once she saw us, her face lit up and we got immediately to organizing the books. I noticed how invested and passionate Marge is about the library project in the home. At first I thought it to be a little silly… after all, we’re just separating books, labeling them, and filing them onto shelves, but to Marge, it’s more than that. The establishment of a solid library right outside her living space made her reminisce about her days working as a librarian, serving the community and avid book readers.

Also, Marge’s daughter was visiting her, so we were able to interact with her, and she’s actually quite funny! She showed us videos of her dog on her cell phone, and we spent the afternoon relishing in quality human interaction. It made me happy to see that Marge’s family was still involved in her life. Oftentimes when people are moved into assisted living facilities or nursing homes, their families either lose interest in taking the time to visit their family members or they live too far away to visit regularly. I could tell that Marge and her daughter still maintained a steady relationship.

After we wrapped up our goodbyes to the women, we lingered about the lobby waiting for our ride to arrive. A woman whom I had never seen before was sitting in a comfy looking chair and flipping through a magazine. She looked like she was in her seventies. I didn’t want to bother her, but I noticed that she had been looking up occasionally from her reading, so my friends and I engaged in a conversation with her. She asked us all what we were studying in school and seemed amazed at the bounty of opportunities that we have today education-wise. She mentioned that when she and her female friends were applying to colleges, they each flipped a coin. If it landed on heads, the individual would be a teacher, and if it landed on tails, a nurse. This idea simply fascinated me. Far too often, we take what’s given to us for granted. Stories like this one are the reason why I think The Memory Initiative’s mission is so important. 

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” ~William Arthur Ward