The sunset is near at sunrise

As the end of my service learning at Sunrise View Retirement Villa draws near, I can't help but be in disbelief that it's gone by so quickly. It seems like last week I was running around like crazy trying to get all my papers turned into Sharyn. As of today, I have spent ten hours at Sunrise over the past few weeks. Thursday will be my second to last shift, so I'm not done yet. And it seems a bit premature to be reflecting already, but here it goes.
Volunteering with the elderly and senile has given me a greater appreciation for them. Not that I was ever anti-geriatric but, I've always been uncomfortable around people when they start to lose their faculties. Spending time there has been a good eye opening experience for me. Mostly I've been interacting with the residents of Sunrise by leading them in various games and such. Every encounter has been wonderful whether by bringing the room to laughter or getting mean mugged by a disgruntled BINGO player. They're all a pleasure to be around and I'm so glad I decided to tackle my discomfort with the elderly, and give myself an opportunity to change and grow. Some of the changes I have noticed with my opinions of the elderly, is the realization that they have the same basic emotional needs that I do. They want to smile, laugh, have fun, and be heard. I feel bad that I ever had any negative feelings to begin with. One thing that struck me is one day (I hope) I'm going to be an old lady, and I'd hate to know anyone would feel uncomfortable around me just because I'm elderly. I really had to take a good look at the big picture.
Volunteering at Sunrise has been an eye opening experience. It has changed me for the better, making me realize that we are all human beings with needs, no matter what our age. During my remaining shifts I'm going to make sure to enjoy every last minute, and keep my eyes and ears open to the possibility of more inner growth.

Climbing a mountain of roadblocks

When I look at my service learning so far, it's hard to pinpoint anything remotely parallel to Greg Mortenson's accomplishments and setbacks in "Three Cups of Tea" and my service learning at Sunrise Retirement Villa. Yes, we are volunteering just as Mortensen is, but I'd like to find something deeper than the obvious . Due to a major flu outbreak at my service site, I wasn't able to make it this past week. Perhaps the closest comparison I can think of is facing roadblocks. Mortensen's roadblock was coming up with the funds to build a bridge after spending most of it on the school. My roadblock was a flu outbreak that kept me from fulfilling my scheduled service for the week, and now I have to scramble to find the time to make up for that lost day. One quote I feel sums up our similar dilemmas is,"Pull yourself together, Greg. Of course you've hit a few speed bumps," Reichardt said. "But what you're trying to do is much more difficult than climbing K2."(Mortensen 106) Now I realize spending a couple hours a week isn't a monstrous task, but finding the time between juggling work, school, and having a family to take care of really does feel like climbing a mountain some days.

Day one at Sunrise

On Saturday April 18, I started my Service Learning at Sunrise Retirement Villa in Everett. There are two buildings within the center. One serves as a retirement villa and the other is a convalescent center. The Villa has been in the community since about 1983. My activities coordinator says it's a unique center as in you don't have to go to another center if you get sick, or if you get better, you can go back over to the assisted living side. This is great for married couples if one can live independently, and the other is sick, they can still see each other everyday.
On my first day I worked mostly on the convalescent side. Most everyone was in a wheelchair or used a walker. There were a few that were mobile on their own. My first task was to remove nail polish then apply hand lotion to some of the ladies who wanted my treatment. It went really well. Some were more talkative than others, which was enjoyable for both of us. I tried to talk to the quiet ladies, but perhaps they didn't feel comfortable talking to me yet. After I was done with all the ladies, I went to the dining area to help out with BINGO! Liz, my "boss" had me call the numbers. I was a little nervous at first, I could see the look of uncertainty in some of their eyes, like," who's this girl"? After I called the first few, they let me know it wasn't just "I-20" but also "I- two-zero". This was cute because after I met their requirements the players smiled and were happy with me. For the last part of my shift I got to go wash all the BINGO chips! I did this in the dining room during lunch where I noticed most of them sit at tables with their spouse, a group of friends, and a few were lucky enough to have family come join them for lunch. You see how happy they are when they get visitors, and it's a good feeling to see them smile.
I chose this site because we were supposed to choose something we aren't familiar with and maybe out of our comfort zone. I volunteer regulalrly at my son's school, I'm familiar with the foodbank (my brother worked at the voa in Everett) and I've used their resources before. That narrowed it down to Cocoon House or the few assisted living centers. I knew I would enjoy working with teens so I chose Sunrise view Retirement Villa. Since I was young, I've always had a fear of being around old people who might not be working with all their capacities. Something about it makes me very uneasy. As a child our school choir would go to the local nursing home and sing during the holidays. I always felt very uncomfortabl there and couldn't wait to leave. I've carried this feeling with me my entire life. I want to break this barrier while I do my service learning. I'm hoping to gain a new and better opinion of the elderly. They are someone's Grandmas or Grandpas they've lived long lives and I want to appreciate that.

That was amazingly easy! Now just to copy and paste.