So last week for our Summer of Service project, we made a quick trip over to the assisted living-type facility right here in town. I wish I would have taken more pictures, at least of the boys going in full of anticipation. It's always kind of awkward in those settings though. But I'm sure you can picture it. It is an older building, relatively small, quaint place. I can't remember the name of it, but it is your typical lower-middle class rest home, nursing home, whatever you want to call it. And what a simple, but great experience we had.
So before we went we made cute little cards that said "Have a good day!", "Have a happy day!", "Someone's thinking about you!", etc. Cody was in charge of drawing the pictures, Corbin was in charge of writing words, and Colton helped by adding stickers of smiley faces and butterflies.
We also took some flowers to hand out. Too bad there's no picture, and I have no idea what they were called, but they looked something like this:
We found them on sale in bunches at the grocery store and they were perfect for dividing because they had several blooms on each stem, so we could give them individually to many people.
With the cards and the flowers, we were able to visit several residents, and both male and female enjoyed our company. We visited a few folks that were getting ready for dinner in the dining room and then a couple of the CNAs took us around to specific residents that they thought might enjoy our visit. There were not just elderly people there, and I think it was good for my boys to visit people with severe disabilities and talk about why they are there. Everyone was so gracious and smiling. I wish we could have done more!
A funny story though, one older lady who came walking into the common area was not they least bit interested in the kids, their flowers or their cards - she was like "Is this your Daddy?, Is this your Daddy?", nodding and moving towards my husband. I think he's good-looking, but yeah, sounds like he's got some other admirers now.
Overall, the project was a good experience for my boys and I KNOW the residents that we visited loved it. What I would do differently next time? Find ways to linger longer with each resident; prep my boys more with ideas of what to say; bring more flowers! Below are a couple of articles about visiting the elderly, mostly family, but I liked the idea of bringing a magazine and then talking about what's in it. I think that's a good ice breaker and gives you a way to spend a little bit more time talking.
Good luck with your own endeavours! I think this is an easy project and yet so meaningful for the recipients who often just need to know that someone cares and hasn't forgotten them.
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