I was wrong when I thought that this week was going to be the ice cream social. Next week is the ice cream social so as promised, I will let you know how that goes. This Monday was a slow one at the Veterans Home. According to the girl that works at the Veterans Home, there is not a good turn out when the weather is bad and it was cold and rainy that day. Another factor that made our turnout so poor was that the clocks fell back an hour so all the residents were mixed up.
The game this week was black jack and we at least had enough people to fill one table. The group that showed up was the typical group that comes but they are all very different. One man is always a jokester, he sat next to the dealer and any time she looked away he would try and get more chips or look at her down card. There is another lady is really quiet and spaces out a lot. The dealer and I were cracking up but she would “hit” when she had 17 or 18 but stay when she only had 14. We simply did not understand.
A really nice man sat next to me and we were having a good time. I guess you could say I was his wingman because each time the dealer dealt we would look at each other and without saying a word decide if we should hit or stay. My partner and the lady on the other side of me would bicker sometimes because they play by different rules but we would always manage to resolve the issue. Everyone at the table managed to win so everyone got a prize. It was cute because the man I was playing with let me go pick out his prize. This was actually a hard task because I had no clue what he would want. I picked up a puzzle book and asked if he would like it. When he shook his head no I put it down, finally we settled on a pack of toothbrushes. I thought it was funny but I guess they don’t get stuff like that very often so I’m sure they’ll be very useful. I’m glad I was able to make him happy. I hope everyone’s service is going well also! (:
I bet the time change would do some mixing up it’s always hard to get used to that. Blackjack sounds like a lot of to watch fun and very enjoyable for the residents to play. It would be difficult to sort out the different ways that people play the games especially being that they have probably played that way for a very long time. Glad everyone ended up prize, that makes things fun. It’s funny that the guy had you go pick out his prize but then didn’t like the one that you picked. Sounds like you had a great time helping out with the games and you were very helpful. It is great that you can help out and enjoy what you are doing! Can’t wait to hear how the ice cream social goes, sounds like it would be a great way to get lots of people involved. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteThat is sad to see that you didn’t have very many people come to blackjack this week especially considering how much fun everyone seemed to have last time. I understand the time change thing being an issue because I know that it threw me off for several days this week. That seems like a weird concept that when the weather is bad outside that the residents don’t come to the activities because I want to do something fun when it is gloomy outside. It sounds like everyone who did come had fun especially since they all won too. The one lady seemed like she might have been slightly confused about the basic principles of the game since she never seemed to be anywhere close to 21. Your wingman seemed like an entertaining guy and like he made the game even more enjoyable for you. The toothbrushes as prizes is really random because I would think that a toothbrush is a basic necessity and that the residents would get a new one every three months, but I’m glad that the old man like his prize. I can’t wait to hear about the ice cream social next week, have fun!
ReplyDeleteThis post was just adorable for me to read. There is nothing more confusing than when you're working with the elderly and they seem to understand exactly what is going on but you have no clue! It seems like you are getting along really well with the people at the veteran's home and I'm so glad. It's great that you can get so involved in their activities and I'm sure they really appreciate you being there. That is hilarious that you had to pick his prize out I wouldn't have known what to do either! But the fact that he wanted the toothbrushes is really out there I wouldn't have known either! But it sounds like your service work is going really well and I hope you are enjoying it!
ReplyDeleteHeh heh, I hope that the residents weren’t disappointed by the lack of ice-cream like you. :P I also had noticed how weather and such can effect residents activities and activeness in general. I know that sunshine can affect people’s attitudes, but I don’t understand why it effects the elderly so much. Especially when they’re always inside anyway and don’t have that many windows.
ReplyDeleteI always love the differences of personalities too. The residents who still have personality and track with situations are hilarious. They’re so often really biased and always thing they are right. When there are differences of oppinions, the way they handle it is really funny. Often times they both think that the other is being ridiculous, and I feel like they would get mad over even these little things, but they often times seem to get tired of the argument before they really get started. Oh well.
I was also really confused about the weather situation. Most of the residents rarely go outside so I don’t understand how or why that affects their activity within the Veterans Home.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa, The ice cream social went really well. I had a lot of fun and there was a pretty decent turn out this week. Normally a lot of people show up for it, I mean who can pass up ice cream? It was actually funny because some residents came simply because we had butter pecan ice cream which is their favorite.
Erika, I was confused about the toothbrush thing too. I thought that things like that would be provided in a home like that but maybe not? I’ve never asked questions about things like that.
Hilary, I really love working with the residents at the Veterans Home. They are all so funny in their own way and I really enjoy myself. (:
Luke, the residents have the activity schedule a little more memorized than I do so I don’t think they were expecting the ice cream social! Ha ha
I hope all of your service is going well (: