The other day I was visiting a senior care facility at mealtime. It was also at this time that the RN on duty was passing out meds. She was going at a pretty fast clip, but still taking time to interact verbally with each resident. Her comments were upbeat. This enabled her to dispatch her duties with little or no resistance from the residents. But maybe she was going a little too fast.
As she approached one woman in a wheelchair the resident immediately picked up her water glass, obviously knowing the drill. "I can see that you're a lefty," the nurse said in a cheerful voice. "You picked up your water glass right away with your left hand when you saw me coming." The resident didn't comment. An appropriate comment from the resident might have been, "Did you notice that I don't have a right arm?"
Just a little extra time. Just a few seconds more. Slowing down to inhabit their space and their world for just a little while. That shouldn't be too much to ask.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Pretty Kitty Waste Basket
To create this project we simply cut the tops off of the containers so they resemble a small waste basket. I did this with a box cutter to start, and finished off with a scissors. Next, we took scraps of paper and some embellishments and attached them with our favorite adhesive, gloss gel. This is most easily done by brushing a section of the container with the gloss gel and placing a piece of decorative paper onto the section. We used paper cut into 2x2 inch pieces. Torn pieces of paper would also be nice to use.
It's good to start your first row about an inch from the top. The row that you place above that can then fold over the edge of the container and create a nice, smooth edge around the top, even if your container is cut a little uneven.
As far as choice of paper you could use old greeting cards, pictures from magazines, or old calendars. When the project was finished one of the activity people took the containers home and coated them with a few coats of polyurethane. This did not seem to affect the paper or the embellishments.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Dry Clean Only
I recently attended a presentation by a feng shui practitioner. It had a good news/bad news effect. Coupled with the "Spring Cleaning" bacteria that infects my psyche at this time of year, my house and possessions were in trouble.
Being the type of cleaner that I am, living by the motto, "After four years it doesn't get any worse," I approached my cleaning enthusiasm cautiously, starting with a few simple areas. But finally, I had to face my nemesis. Namely, my bathroom.
Although the above mentioned room is sanitary, if you don't count dust bunnies, the room had one irksome cleaning dilemma. The shower curtain, which in spite of it's beauty, had collected a bit of soap scum on one of its corners. Aside from that it hangs there in all its glorious gold and cream brocade, sporting a little tag that says, "Dry Clean Only." And so you ask, who would be the idiot to purchase a dry clean only shower curtain. Guilty as charged.
Realizing that I was unwilling to live any longer with the soaped up corner, and also unwilling to take a shower curtain to the dry cleaners, I grit my teeth and threw the shower curtain into the washer, wishing it the best of luck. The worst case scenario would be a ruined curtain which would allow me to shop for a new one. There are worse things in life. Magically, however, the shower curtain came out of the washer in pristine condition. Soap scum gone, fabric unscathed.
Isn't that the way it goes. Sometimes we live with irksome conditions, unwilling to take a chance and ask that simple question, "What's the worst thing that could happen?" Armed with this success, the rest of my rooms, and perhaps other parts of my life, are in for some makeovers. My new question is, "What's the best thing that could happen?"
Being the type of cleaner that I am, living by the motto, "After four years it doesn't get any worse," I approached my cleaning enthusiasm cautiously, starting with a few simple areas. But finally, I had to face my nemesis. Namely, my bathroom.
Although the above mentioned room is sanitary, if you don't count dust bunnies, the room had one irksome cleaning dilemma. The shower curtain, which in spite of it's beauty, had collected a bit of soap scum on one of its corners. Aside from that it hangs there in all its glorious gold and cream brocade, sporting a little tag that says, "Dry Clean Only." And so you ask, who would be the idiot to purchase a dry clean only shower curtain. Guilty as charged.
Realizing that I was unwilling to live any longer with the soaped up corner, and also unwilling to take a shower curtain to the dry cleaners, I grit my teeth and threw the shower curtain into the washer, wishing it the best of luck. The worst case scenario would be a ruined curtain which would allow me to shop for a new one. There are worse things in life. Magically, however, the shower curtain came out of the washer in pristine condition. Soap scum gone, fabric unscathed.
Isn't that the way it goes. Sometimes we live with irksome conditions, unwilling to take a chance and ask that simple question, "What's the worst thing that could happen?" Armed with this success, the rest of my rooms, and perhaps other parts of my life, are in for some makeovers. My new question is, "What's the best thing that could happen?"
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Why We Talk
I recently read an article with ideas on why people talk. Instinctively, I'd probably respond that people talk in order to gather or give information. The article took a different slant and caused me to take another look at my interactions with the senior population.
According to the article, we talk in order to make ourselves known and to position ourselves. We make ourselves known by revealing things about ourselves and making a noise that tells other people that we exist. We position ourselves by getting reactions to, and repeating our stories that get positive reactions.
For instance - if a young child you know, such as your own child, a grandchild, a niece or nephew, or some other small person, does something that you consider interesting or note worthy, it's likely that you're going to share the story with those you come in contact with. So, you might come to work and relate that this child corrected a teacher in math class and proved that they (the child) had a better understanding of the subject matter than the teacher did. You tell a co-worker who says how proud you must be and what brilliant children you have in your family. Score! A story, obviously, worth repeating throughout the day. You bask in the accolades given to someone that you know.
But what if the reaction you encountered ran something like, "What a belligerent little snip that child seems to be. I only hope you're watchful so the child doesn't grow up to be a mass murderer!" Whoa! Get that reaction a few times and you might file your story in the "Do Not Share" file.
So we tell stories that will reflect positively on ourselves and on those who are part of our lives. There are also those stories where we're wronged or where we're heroes. These seem to be some of our culture's favorites.
So how does this affect the senior population in our care? All too often, when I work at or visit a facility I observe staff talking to each other instead of talking with the resident that they're dealing with. Whether it's feeding or exercising the resident, the staff member, all too often, is talking and looking through the resident. This is, of course, normal. That's because we're generally not going to get a reaction from the resident about the incidents we have on our story board for the day and which we consider worthy of note.
The other thing I've observed is that many times when a staff person passes other staff in the hall they greet each other, even though they both may be pushing a resident in a wheel chair or walking with a resident. Most often the residents look detached from what's going on around them. As an experiment I decided not to greet staff who are with residents. Instead, I'd make eye contact with the resident and give a greeting. It's amazing how their faces light up and they come into the present, delighted that someone is aware of their existence.
Finally, I'd like to give recognition to the vast majority of staff who share themselves, listen, and are present to those seniors who are cut off from social interactions in so many ways. It's a kindness to give them their opportunities to make themselves known and to appreciate the lives they led in the past and the time their sharing with us in the present. You are a blessing to their lives.
Thank you for all that you do.
According to the article, we talk in order to make ourselves known and to position ourselves. We make ourselves known by revealing things about ourselves and making a noise that tells other people that we exist. We position ourselves by getting reactions to, and repeating our stories that get positive reactions.
For instance - if a young child you know, such as your own child, a grandchild, a niece or nephew, or some other small person, does something that you consider interesting or note worthy, it's likely that you're going to share the story with those you come in contact with. So, you might come to work and relate that this child corrected a teacher in math class and proved that they (the child) had a better understanding of the subject matter than the teacher did. You tell a co-worker who says how proud you must be and what brilliant children you have in your family. Score! A story, obviously, worth repeating throughout the day. You bask in the accolades given to someone that you know.
But what if the reaction you encountered ran something like, "What a belligerent little snip that child seems to be. I only hope you're watchful so the child doesn't grow up to be a mass murderer!" Whoa! Get that reaction a few times and you might file your story in the "Do Not Share" file.
So we tell stories that will reflect positively on ourselves and on those who are part of our lives. There are also those stories where we're wronged or where we're heroes. These seem to be some of our culture's favorites.
So how does this affect the senior population in our care? All too often, when I work at or visit a facility I observe staff talking to each other instead of talking with the resident that they're dealing with. Whether it's feeding or exercising the resident, the staff member, all too often, is talking and looking through the resident. This is, of course, normal. That's because we're generally not going to get a reaction from the resident about the incidents we have on our story board for the day and which we consider worthy of note.
The other thing I've observed is that many times when a staff person passes other staff in the hall they greet each other, even though they both may be pushing a resident in a wheel chair or walking with a resident. Most often the residents look detached from what's going on around them. As an experiment I decided not to greet staff who are with residents. Instead, I'd make eye contact with the resident and give a greeting. It's amazing how their faces light up and they come into the present, delighted that someone is aware of their existence.
Finally, I'd like to give recognition to the vast majority of staff who share themselves, listen, and are present to those seniors who are cut off from social interactions in so many ways. It's a kindness to give them their opportunities to make themselves known and to appreciate the lives they led in the past and the time their sharing with us in the present. You are a blessing to their lives.
Thank you for all that you do.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Quinoa and Veggies - Recipe for Life
To begin with, the following recipe calls for, among other things, celery, small carrots, frozen peas, brown mustard seeds, paprika, coriander, and cashew pieces or sunflower seeds, all of which I did not have in the house when I decided to make this dish. Did I go to the store? Guess again. I substituted frozen carrots, broccoli and cauliflower for the veggies that I didn't have on hand, prepared mustard for the mustard seed (is that legal) and I ignored the rest of the missing ingredients.
The recipe also calls for soy sauce, which I had on hand, but failed to add. Go figure. Just one of those days. And isn't that what life is sometimes like. As Miss Piggy would say, "You got to go with what you got." She also said, "Never eat more than you can lift," which I consider words to live by.
But on to the recipe in its original form. What you do with the recipe once it's in your hot little hands is up to you.
Quinoa and Veggies
Ingredients
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 T cooking oil
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced
1 cup frozen peas
1 t brown mustard seed
1/2 t dry ginger
1 t paprika
1/2 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1/2 t turmeric
pinch cayenne
1 T soy sauce
1/4 cup cashew pieces or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped parsley - optional
In a large, shallow pan heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds and cook on medium high heat until the seeds begin to pop.
Add the carrots, celery, peas and nuts and stir-fry for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining spices along with 2 T water. Cover and steam until the veggies are tender. Mix in the quinoa and steam for a few more minutes until everything is hot. This would be a good time to stir in the optional parsley.
Serve and enjoy.
OK. You'll notice that the picture with this recipe is not a picture of quinoa and veggies. That's because we ate it all. Every last bite. It was simply delicious in its cobbled together form. The picture included is dad at age 96 and still finding things to smile about. Isn't life just full of wonderful moments!
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