I work at Shorehaven; a nursing home, most Mondays and Wednesdays. I clock in at 3:30, check my household, and get into the elevator. You will usually find me on the second floor, either in Woodland or Labelle. I prefer Woodland, where all the residents know and are kind and aware. A lot of them struggle with eating their own food and speaking properly. They are older and with age comes confusion and difficulties.  I feel honored and grateful that I can help them with their basic needs.

Every Monday is bingo night; that's something they always remember. After I serve dinner, I ask “Does anyone want to go down for Bingo tonight?” A few of them in wheelchairs will usually respond with a “Yes” and a grin that lightens up the room and that gets others to want to go down as well.  It’s important for me to ask the ones who cannot respond or hear properly because it's always fun to get out of the household to see more than just their room. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes no. 

I take them down to the lobby and they converse about how excited they are to play Bingo. This makes my heart happy because I feel I made their night. It's hard to be stuck in a place all day when you can’t move and need help with everything (and most of the residents are on hospice). Trying to make them comfortable is something that is so important to me because I would want to be treated with respect and care at that age especially since you never know when they will pass away. My partner and I get out of the elevator and wheel the residents to the table, the volunteers help them get situated and we get back upstairs to help people to bed and shower. As I walk towards Woodland, I hear happy voices and cheers as they yell “BINGO”, even though the game hasn’t even started which makes me smile because they are just having fun. 

I clock out at 7:30, with a smile on my face knowing I’ll do the same on Wednesday.