May is here. I’m so happy! This is the month when everything will become green and alive and beautiful. There is beauty everywhere, wherever one may find oneself, and one of the most spectacular sights/experiences is seeing Mother Nature wake up from her cold slumber. Today, while driving to IKEA with Miss I to get some stuff for her house, I noticed how green some of the trees and bushes are. It’s amazing. When I came back from Australia everything was brown, cold and wet.
Work is good. I was thinking I should tell you some of what it is I do, some people don’t seem quite sure what it entails, working at a nursing home. Or, rather, a home for people with dementia.
If I work day, we start at 7 in the morning. The night staff let us know how the night has been; people being up and about, if anyone’s been worried/anxious, etc. Some are physically able to get out of bed and dress themselves, they just need a little reminder to get out of the pyjamas and wash. Others need more help.
We serve breakfast and the staff always sit down with the residents. Seeing us sitting down, having some coffee and eating a sandwich, talking about this and that, makes them relax and eat better. We do this four times a day; breakfast, lunch, afternoon coffee/’fika’ and dinner. It’s such a lovely thing to do. It’s so nice to sit down among these people who helped build the society we all live in today. Yes, they are a bit forgetful and repeat some things over and over, but those things don’t matter. What matters is making them laugh and smile, making them feel safe and appreciated.
During the weekdays there are activities like baking, gymnastics, music, quizzes. My first week they had a church choir visiting. A lot of the staff asked residents to dance and at times the dance floor was full of dancing couples. It was so much fun, and so appreciated. I got all emotional watching our residents from the age of 70 to 90 shimmying to various Swedish songs.
The other week I went on a walk with one of the ladies and we ended up swinging in one of the garden hammocks in the beautiful inner courtyard, with its flowers, vegetable garden, pond and tiny waterfall.
Paradise.
We help with showers, we clean the residents’ rooms, we do their laundry. Sometimes we have to help with food, mostly reminding them to eat. But we’re also there to listen, to ease anxiety and fear best we can. It’s a tough job, it’s mentally and physically exhausting at times. But it’s also very rewarding.
It’s not for everyone, though. I have been doing this enough to know (during school holidays) that it’s a job that demands compassion and empathy. If you don’t have those, well, get a different job. Because these people deserve compassion and empathy. They are someone’s mother/father/grandparent/sister/brother/uncle/aunt/neighbour/friend/colleague. They didn’t ask for what’s happening to them, the things they’re going through.
To give them a smile and tease a chuckle out of them when I walk into their room in the morning and to make them feel safe and appreciated when saying good-night, that is the least I can do.
Until next time.
The Curious Journal of Miss C 