I just got back from walking with my neighbor Anne.  It wasn’t just a stroll.  It was a deliberate walk to a specific destination.  We were walking to the nursing home that is just a few blocks away from our houses.

She had told me about this place when we first moved in.  Her mother and father reside there, as does her grandmother-in-law, (who is 101 years old and still reads romance novels and loves it when the police come on motorcycles because she says the sound gets her “fired up!”  It’s no wonder she’s still alive and thriving!)

I have felt for some time that I wanted to volunteer somewhere where people are lonely and could use a hug and a smile.  I also was hoping that it could be somewhere that I could walk to, as I’m really trying to be available to the people in my immediate community – this community that has so graciously welcome me and my family with open arms and hearts.

So it made sense to ask Anne about volunteering at this nursing home.  She set up an appointment with the activities director (where they need volunteer help).  Before our appointment, she took me through the halls and introduced me to people, her family included, and showed me the ropes of this 139 bed facility.

If there was ever any question as to if I should spend my time there or not, any trace of doubt was erased as I walked through the doors.  Hands reaching out for a squeeze.  Faces looking up for a smile.  Bent and broken bodies dependent on wheelchairs and walkers.  I smiled and said hello to one sad looking little grandma who was sitting alone.  When her eyes met mine and she realized I was talking directly to her, her face lit up and I saw a glimpse of what she must have looked like when she was five years old.  A sparkle came back into her eyes.  It was beautiful.  There are stories behind those eyes….

When Anne introduced me to her dad, who has Alzheimer’s, he sang “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”, missing a few words, but right on pitch.  Then he called me “doll” and asked me for a kiss.  I think I actually blushed 🙂  He had been a singer back in the day and though he doesn’t remember what happened five minutes ago, lyrics and tunes come back to him instantly.

Anne took me to the room that they use for the dementia and Alzheimer’s residents’ activities.  Simple things to stimulate their senses.  She told me that there are women there who can no longer speak and can barely function, but if you put a doll in their arms they begin singing lullabies and rocking the babies back and forth.  That innate maternal instinct is still there even when so much else is gone.  Compassion, tenderness, care.  Love, comfort, soothing.  Those things in the soul that go beyond the confines of the mind.

There is a stylist there who cuts and styles the hair of the residents.  When I told her it was a wonderful thing she was doing for these people, she simply said, “Everyone feels a little better when they feel pretty.”  Even though most of them can’t tell her that and a good number of them may not even be fully aware of what she’s doing, she knows she is making a difference for them.  She is contributing to their dignity.  She is treating them with personal touch and care.  Massaging the scalps of those who can’t thank her.  And she would do nothing else in the world.

We went into the appointment with the activities director.  I think she wondered what my motivation in being there was.  I explained to her a little about myself and why my heart was turning in this direction.  She asked me if I liked to do crafts.  (Has she seen my Pinterest account????)  I gave my obvious response of “yes!”  and she nearly breathed a sigh of relief.  The person who had been heading up the crafting activities had just suffered an injury that will keep her away for several weeks so the timing was perfect.  She also said that I could do some “baking classes” with the residents!  Twist my arm!

I start in the next two weeks.

I don’t know what I’ll do first.  I don’t think it matters that much.  What DOES matter is that when we are crafting or baking together I look them in the eyes and truly SEE them.  I need to hear through their words or lack of words and listen to their hearts.  I just need to be there.  Available.  Engaged.  Undistracted.  All theirs for an afternoon a week.  I plan on learning a lot from these precious lives and their stories.

And I can hardly wait….:-)