Weekend of Fun

This weekend was both Valentine's Day and Erin's birthday, so naturally we decided to make a trip to Sacramento to see Erin and Nick.

I rested Friday night from an exhausting week at work. Then Saturday morning, I got up early to go to the temple, and finally, started tidying up the house before we hit the road. That's when I discovered the shower in the boy's bathroom. It was covered (and I do mean covered!) with mold and mildew. I was so grossed out, I had to stop right then and scrub that thing down. I felt like if I left it there, it would soon take over our whole house. You would think that they would complain that it was dirty, or (gasp) try to clean it themselves, but no...they would rather close their eyes and ignore the horror.

After I was done tackling that awful project, we traveled to Sacramento, where we were able to drop in on Erin at work and then go home for games, food and fun. Erin took us to a gigantic international grocery store where there was food from every conceivable ethnicity. We had fun seeing all the different types of foods and languages there. We made tacos at their apartment. It seems like we're always making tacos when we're together! Everyone loves them.

On Erin's 28th birthday, we were able to spend the morning together hanging out and talking, then headed to church at 1 o'clock. I was so happy that even Joe and Kelly went with us to the service, and stayed the whole time! After church, we went home and made hot and sour chicken soup, pot stickers and rice. It was so wonderful to spend some time together!!

"I'm going to heaven!"

One of the residents I talk to often at work always starts, punctuates and ends her conversations with me with this statement, "I'm going to heaven!" She passed 100 many years ago, and is looking forward to checking out, settling up, and cashing in her rewards. (Sounds like a hotel stay!)

In the care center, we often get to witness the last days of our residents' lives. We get to hold hands, offer love and encouragement, wipe away tears and tend to the business of both living and dying. Someone I know who is a foster parent talks about what it's like to love someone you know won't be with you tomorrow. That struck a chord with me. That is the privilege we have as we watch over these souls.

All of our residents are old. They will all die soon. What happens between the time they enter our care and the time they leave this life is largely up to us and quality of interactions we have with them. I look at it as a sacred trust. Long before someone begins actively dying I make it my business to know at least some of the things that they love, a few things that make life worth living for them. I make it my mission to know them, to begin to love them. This process is smoother for some residents than others, but fortunately for me, God made it easy for me. While I often have difficulty trusting others, love comes easily to me, and especially for older adults (and children). When people draw close to the end, it makes it easy to step out of my comfort zone to reach out.

I'm so thankful for my job. I'm so grateful that the Lord has given me so many people to learn charity and kindness and patience and pretty much all the Christlike virtues we are supposed to be striving for. He's placed me in the crucible of developing those attributes in my home and work life...it must be urgent for me to learn these things!