The first thing I was assigned to do was go and get residents to bring them to the ice cream social. That was fun because we got them really excited about coming. We'd ask what their favorite flavors and toppings were and they usually had a special order they got at every one. One thing that was hard for me was learning how to slow down. I am used to power walking to class every day but walking with and elderly person or pushing a wheel chair really causes you to slow down.
When we arrived at the ice cream social we'd seat the residents and ask what they'd like. Sometimes it was frustrating because we couldn't understand what they were saying. I always feel rude asking "what?" multiple times but I didn't know what else to do.
One of the best parts of the night was that two of the residents provided entertainment. One played the piano and they both sang. They were pretty good! They would play military songs, slow songs, fast songs, and even some current songs. One of the residents even asked my friend to dance with him which was really nice to see.
Although there were a lot of frustrating parts of that night, in the end it was really nice. I had a good time and it helped me slow down and look at things in a different way. I am really looking forward to my monday nights and the rest of the year. Next week's event is horse racing.
That sounds like a really cool experience; I’m glad to see that the residents are provided other activities besides bingo because while it is a fun activity I’m sure it would become quite boring if you played everyday. It seems like out of necessity the residents of the Veteran’s Home taught you to slow down, enjoy life, and stop to smell the roses. While I’m sure it was frustrating at first, due to the hectic schedules many college students experience, I imagine that it was also nice to be able to relax for a short time. Not being able to help the people with their ice cream seems crazy, and I don’t think I would be able to watch them struggle. What kinds of solutions were you able to come up with to help them? Was your friend that was asked to dance a volunteer from our class or someone from another organization? Best of luck with learning to slow down! Keep us updated on your activities, next week especially!
ReplyDeleteIt's cool that you're being honest and open about this. I mean i never worked with elderly people before, but I bet it can be pretty frustrating at times. It's nice to know they're being comfortable with you guys around, and they would ask you to dance and sing with them. I feel like I could use such an experience to learn how to be more patient with people and to slow down a little since I live my life like it's a race. i think there's lots to learn from the veterans and the elderly community in general since they're more experienced in life. I love how they would just speak whatever is on their mind. once you hit 70 you probably don't care about societal pressure anymore. Hope you had fun. Horse-riding sounds amazing. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds awesome! I hope when I retire I get to have ice cream socials on Mondays... Is it weird that I'm looking forward to that? Anyway, when you said that you had trouble with "slowing down" while doing your service, I can really relate to that. I feel like as college students we are focused a lot on the future... our future career, our next paper that's due, our next exam, our next party... Sometimes so much so that we forget to appreciate the now. Not to sound totally cheesy, but I feel like this could be a really good opportunity for us to re-learn that ability, to just be present and invested in the current moment. I have found that in community service, the way you get and give the most is by being completely present. Not worrying about homework, the next day, or the week, but just absorbing each moment. This sounds more cliche than I had intended, but oh well! Also, I had a lot of trouble communicating with the residents as well. It was quite depressing to know that many of them had lost their ability to hear or speak. I think it's just important to remind ourselves that even though the residents may not be able to physically thank us, our work is still greatly appreciated by the Veteran's home itself.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a lot of fun. An ice cream social should aways be a good time. I'm glad that the people in the Veteran's Home still get to experience things like ice cream socials.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to listen to all of the stories that the elderly have. However, I agree that sometimes it is frustrating to try and help because you don't know what needs to be done or what is acceptable to do.
It's great that some of them are still singing and dancing, having a good time and having you guys join in.
I liked what you said about having to slow down. It is crazy how fast I move from activity to activity sometimes. And it is nice to slow down sometimes and take it easy.