I'm all moved in to my apartment now! I'm so sorry I haven't gotten pictures up yet. Things have been SO crazy lately! It took us three days to completely finish moving in because it rained ALL weekend. We hadn't had rain here in a long time, then all the sudden it rained all weekend. Of course, we needed the rain, but it made things a little more difficult. I took before pictures, so I'll take "after" pictures soon and post them! So far I absolutely LOVE it! It has been really nice to have my own place. The only BAD thing is that we don't have cable and I am missing football season.... :( I might be having withdraws. I love football. So anyway, pictures soon - I promise!
My job is going WONDERFULLY! Pretty much, I have been put in charge of creating a program for memory care. I will plan and carry out the activities that will create the program. They have never had a program back there before so it is kind of a big deal! Today was my first day to start some activities and it went really well. They were completely worn out after lunch, but that was expected. They usually don't do anything but watch TV, so it will take them a little while to get used to doing activities! Although my title is still "officially" caregiver, I have been given UNofficial titles such as "Memory Care Activities Director" and "Memory Care Director". There is a LOT of potential for me to do really well here and move up quickly if things continue to go well! I am so excited about this opportunity! I will keep you updated on how things go! I think someone is coming in the end of this week to "evalutate" the Memory Care, so maybe we'll get some good news! Remember, I am their "plan of correction". They were scored very poorly for their memory care program (which.... there wasn't one), so I am supposed to be the "fix" for that. Hopefully they will be very impressed when they come back! :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Work Stories
I decided to share a few fun stories from work this week. A lot of them involve a woman named Fran. She always has something funny to say! Most of the time, they are completely irrelevant and made up, but she always gives us a laugh!
A woman who gives the residents medicine comes in. She is very large and very overweight.
Fran: (out loud, but not actually intended for the large woman) It is a sin in the sight of the Lord to let your body get that big...
I was playing dominoes with two of the residents, Fran and David. When it got around to Fran's turn, I would have to remind her. I was very patient with her, but sometimes even after she would acknowledge that it was her turn, she still wouldn't play for several minutes, so I would have to remind her again. One time, I let her know it was her turn, then waited and waited but she didn't play.
Me: Fran, your turn.
Fran: Honey, when you get old, it takes a little longer to concentrate.
There is a man named Sidney who is a caregiver in the Assisted Living section. He comes through Memory occasionally.
Fran: Did you see that black man? He is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen!
Caregiver: Fran! Why would you say that?
Fran: (in disgust) He tried to get me to wear his engagement ring...
Someone told Sidney about that conversation and he thought it was hilarious, so now he kind of stirs up trouble when he comes through. He will go over and talk to her and smile at her real big. She will smile back, but then she will talk about him once he's gone.
Fran: Did you see that black man?
Me: Yes
Fran: He thinks he is one sharp boy... floating through here like he is big stuff.... ugh!
David is really good at understanding other residents and figuring out what it is they say or want. There is a woman named Pat who is kind of hard to understand sometimes, but David can usually figure out what she is saying. One time Pat was rambling on and we couldn't understand her.
Fran: (to David) What is she saying?
David: I'm not sure...
Fran: (upset/angry) Well you oughta know! She's YOUR mother!
There is a woman named Ethel who never talks. I was told that she got to the point where she had a lot of trouble getting out what she wanted to say, so she just stopped talking completely. She will look up at you when you talk to her and nod yes or no. She will smile at you and even let out a little laugh every now and then, but she RARELY talks. One of the caregivers was telling me on Wednesday that she hoped that I would one day get to hear Ethel say SOMETHING. She told me she has the sweetest voice. On Thursday I was helping her eat her ice cream and we were laughing about how I was making a mess with it because I accidentally let some run down her chin. I got a napkin and wiped it off and she was laughing and she looked up at me and said, "Thank you" in the sweetest voice! It nearly made me cry because it caught me so off guard and it was so cute! I may never hear her say another word, but I'm glad I got to hear it just once. :)
David is the only male resident in Memory. He is in pretty good shape, but has to use a wheelchair because his legs are giving out on him. His mind is pretty sharp though. He is an Aggie and loves football so we have had a lot to talk about so far. I brought some dominoes up there and we had a blast playing. We also played table football (with the folded paper triangle) for over an hour one day. He is very sweet and has quickly become one of my favorites.
I sat by Mary Ada the other day to play dominoes.
Me: Mary Ada, I LOVE that shirt!
Mary Ada: Oh, well thank you!
Me: Do you think I could borrow it sometime? :)
Mary Ada: Sure... just come on in my room and and get it whenever you want.
Mary Ada is probably one of the sweetest people I've ever met. She isn't quite as social as some of the others, but she is ALWAYS smiling... One day she fell asleep at the table before lunch. We put her plate in front of her and said, "Mary Ada...." and she immediately opened her eyes and lifted her head with the biggest, sweetest smile on her face. Seriously, she is ALWAYS smiling! :)
Pat is the oldest resident. She can't do much on her own. We do almost everything for her. She is hard to understand sometimes, but she is very sweet. I was feeding her ice cream one day and she was so excited about it. She kept saying, "Oh boy!" I couldn't get that spoon to her mouth fast enough! As soon as I would get one bite in, she would swallow it then stick her tongue out and wait for the next bite! I got tickled at her, and she knew it!! She started sticking her tongue out then laughing herself. She is very sweet.
There are just a few stories from my week! I know there will be more to come! I absolutely love working there so far. I have already gotten very attached to all of the residents. I don't know what I'm going to do the first time one of them passes... ball like a baby, that's for sure! I just already love them all! More stories to come next week, I'm sure. :)
A woman who gives the residents medicine comes in. She is very large and very overweight.
Fran: (out loud, but not actually intended for the large woman) It is a sin in the sight of the Lord to let your body get that big...
I was playing dominoes with two of the residents, Fran and David. When it got around to Fran's turn, I would have to remind her. I was very patient with her, but sometimes even after she would acknowledge that it was her turn, she still wouldn't play for several minutes, so I would have to remind her again. One time, I let her know it was her turn, then waited and waited but she didn't play.
Me: Fran, your turn.
Fran: Honey, when you get old, it takes a little longer to concentrate.
There is a man named Sidney who is a caregiver in the Assisted Living section. He comes through Memory occasionally.
Fran: Did you see that black man? He is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen!
Caregiver: Fran! Why would you say that?
Fran: (in disgust) He tried to get me to wear his engagement ring...
Someone told Sidney about that conversation and he thought it was hilarious, so now he kind of stirs up trouble when he comes through. He will go over and talk to her and smile at her real big. She will smile back, but then she will talk about him once he's gone.
Fran: Did you see that black man?
Me: Yes
Fran: He thinks he is one sharp boy... floating through here like he is big stuff.... ugh!
David is really good at understanding other residents and figuring out what it is they say or want. There is a woman named Pat who is kind of hard to understand sometimes, but David can usually figure out what she is saying. One time Pat was rambling on and we couldn't understand her.
Fran: (to David) What is she saying?
David: I'm not sure...
Fran: (upset/angry) Well you oughta know! She's YOUR mother!
There is a woman named Ethel who never talks. I was told that she got to the point where she had a lot of trouble getting out what she wanted to say, so she just stopped talking completely. She will look up at you when you talk to her and nod yes or no. She will smile at you and even let out a little laugh every now and then, but she RARELY talks. One of the caregivers was telling me on Wednesday that she hoped that I would one day get to hear Ethel say SOMETHING. She told me she has the sweetest voice. On Thursday I was helping her eat her ice cream and we were laughing about how I was making a mess with it because I accidentally let some run down her chin. I got a napkin and wiped it off and she was laughing and she looked up at me and said, "Thank you" in the sweetest voice! It nearly made me cry because it caught me so off guard and it was so cute! I may never hear her say another word, but I'm glad I got to hear it just once. :)
David is the only male resident in Memory. He is in pretty good shape, but has to use a wheelchair because his legs are giving out on him. His mind is pretty sharp though. He is an Aggie and loves football so we have had a lot to talk about so far. I brought some dominoes up there and we had a blast playing. We also played table football (with the folded paper triangle) for over an hour one day. He is very sweet and has quickly become one of my favorites.
I sat by Mary Ada the other day to play dominoes.
Me: Mary Ada, I LOVE that shirt!
Mary Ada: Oh, well thank you!
Me: Do you think I could borrow it sometime? :)
Mary Ada: Sure... just come on in my room and and get it whenever you want.
Mary Ada is probably one of the sweetest people I've ever met. She isn't quite as social as some of the others, but she is ALWAYS smiling... One day she fell asleep at the table before lunch. We put her plate in front of her and said, "Mary Ada...." and she immediately opened her eyes and lifted her head with the biggest, sweetest smile on her face. Seriously, she is ALWAYS smiling! :)
Pat is the oldest resident. She can't do much on her own. We do almost everything for her. She is hard to understand sometimes, but she is very sweet. I was feeding her ice cream one day and she was so excited about it. She kept saying, "Oh boy!" I couldn't get that spoon to her mouth fast enough! As soon as I would get one bite in, she would swallow it then stick her tongue out and wait for the next bite! I got tickled at her, and she knew it!! She started sticking her tongue out then laughing herself. She is very sweet.
There are just a few stories from my week! I know there will be more to come! I absolutely love working there so far. I have already gotten very attached to all of the residents. I don't know what I'm going to do the first time one of them passes... ball like a baby, that's for sure! I just already love them all! More stories to come next week, I'm sure. :)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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