Working at a retirement home, you tend to see that the elderly are either aggressive or particularly lonely. Most of our residents only get the way they do, because of the loneliness or the absence of love they have. A great majority of our employees try to accommodate for the absence of their children, grandchildren, and loved ones. Yet, some of us aren’t just sure how to be someone close to them, because of their age, or disabilities. I enjoy spending time with my residents and trying to fill the void they have, just by being a friend to them, not acting as their care contributor. One day, during my shift, I was cleaning the tables of leftover food and dishes and getting the dining room back to the way it was before supper, when I saw a group of elderly ladies sitting and talking among themselves. I overheard one of the ladies say to the others, “My family rarely comes to see me anymore”. The others all agreed, saying their families just didn’t have enough time to come see them. The tables started to clear, and only one was left sitting there, alone. Now, she is one of the residents of mine, who sometimes can get aggressive or nippy, because she doesn’t really have very good control over her body anymore. When I saw her sitting alone, I decided to go over, and talk to her to get her mind off of whatever was bothering her. She noted that she thought I was beautiful, and wanted to hear me sing. She had heard me sing beforehand, and she loved it. I sang to her for a while, and once I finished, she said that it reminded her of her granddaughter, and made her feel so happy again. She wanted to go and get two of her other lady friends to join her in the dining room to sing and laugh with the rest of us. In just a half an hour, I had made three
