tonight after i got off from my full time job i headed out to regions hospital in down town st. paul. one of my residents from the group home had surgery there today. she's ok & it's nothing serious. but i just think it's kind of ironic that two weeks before my own surgery i'm sitting in a hospital watching over someone else who just had surgery.
i've been so self absorbed with getting myself ready for my move, for my surgery, for all the changes that are going on in my life that i haven't really stopped to consider how all of this is impacting the people that i love. for instance, in the space of a week and a half my dad is taking off three days from work for me. one to help me move and one to come to my surgery. my brother had to take two days off. my mom is taking the entire week of my surgery off work to take care of me while i stay at their house.
as i sat visiting with my resident this evening i kept thinking in the back of my head in two weeks i'll be the one in the hospital bed. it'll be my family crowded into the room making nervous inane chatter. it was a very bizarre thought for me. & it's almost like her surgery made things more real for me & my surgery. not like i haven't known that this is all just around the corner, but the closer it gets the more vivid it all becomes. if that makes any sense.
Showing posts with label group home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label group home. Show all posts
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, December 02, 2007
yes, i am bragging
so, i am posting this blog from the group home via my iphone. i won't post like this very often cause touch screen typing can take me a while. but had to try it & see if I could & i can & that makes me a happy panda!
Monday, January 22, 2007
when i die, bury me with orange pop
this past weekend one of my residents at the group home died. ok, background: in addition to working in insurance i work at a group home, every other weekend, where i've worked since december of 1995.
when i first started there, i hated it. i mean, hated with everything i was. i like the residents, i always have, but i didn't like some of our management, some of the other staff & lots of the policies. but over time i've mellowed out quite a bit & can take most everything with a grain of salt. & of course, the residents are so much a part of my life that it's odd when i do take time off & don't see them for a while.
i go to their christmas party, when they're in the hospital i visit, they're just like my extended family. except instead of feeling obligated to care because of blood lines, i care because they're such great people that i feel blessed to have them in my life. & i have to say, while i've been told by their families that my residents' lives are better because i'm there, i think that i am really the lucky one because they have taught me SO much about being a good person, love, selflessness, & just about every other human trait you could imagine.
my resident that died had only been with us at our house for about three years, but i loved going in & seeing her. she had the brightest smile, that would just light up the entire room. & she was the biggest prankster, loving to joke with the staff, tease us, make us smile. i really feel like something very special has been taken from my life.
her funeral is tomorrow, the memorial service part, with the internment of her body later on in the week. i have the day off my full time job & i'll be doing a reading. i said i would write a poem for her, if i could, otherwise i have a couple of bible verses, corinthians & ecclesiastes. i want to write her a poem, she deserves at least that from me for all that i got from her, but i'm not sure if i can do it.
& one thing that i definitely want to put out into the universe is that even though she did have disabilities, her life was still very rich & full. she liked spending time outside, playing cards, orange pop, chocolate pudding, going on vacations, van rides, socializing with her house mates & staff. she had family that wrote her letters & visited her. & most of all, she was very very loved & cherished. & in the end, that's all any of us can hope for at the end of our life, that we mattered that much to someone else.
when i first started there, i hated it. i mean, hated with everything i was. i like the residents, i always have, but i didn't like some of our management, some of the other staff & lots of the policies. but over time i've mellowed out quite a bit & can take most everything with a grain of salt. & of course, the residents are so much a part of my life that it's odd when i do take time off & don't see them for a while.
i go to their christmas party, when they're in the hospital i visit, they're just like my extended family. except instead of feeling obligated to care because of blood lines, i care because they're such great people that i feel blessed to have them in my life. & i have to say, while i've been told by their families that my residents' lives are better because i'm there, i think that i am really the lucky one because they have taught me SO much about being a good person, love, selflessness, & just about every other human trait you could imagine.
my resident that died had only been with us at our house for about three years, but i loved going in & seeing her. she had the brightest smile, that would just light up the entire room. & she was the biggest prankster, loving to joke with the staff, tease us, make us smile. i really feel like something very special has been taken from my life.
her funeral is tomorrow, the memorial service part, with the internment of her body later on in the week. i have the day off my full time job & i'll be doing a reading. i said i would write a poem for her, if i could, otherwise i have a couple of bible verses, corinthians & ecclesiastes. i want to write her a poem, she deserves at least that from me for all that i got from her, but i'm not sure if i can do it.
& one thing that i definitely want to put out into the universe is that even though she did have disabilities, her life was still very rich & full. she liked spending time outside, playing cards, orange pop, chocolate pudding, going on vacations, van rides, socializing with her house mates & staff. she had family that wrote her letters & visited her. & most of all, she was very very loved & cherished. & in the end, that's all any of us can hope for at the end of our life, that we mattered that much to someone else.
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