My Ice Cream Cone of Comfort
You know how sometimes when you’re thinking about how you’d really like an ice cream cone, viagra sale and then all of a sudden you hear the welcome tunes of the Good Humor truck coming down your block? The mind is a mighty mystery of chance and providence, my friends. I recently had one of my own ice cream cone moments.
In this holiday season, my mind has been filled with thoughts of my aging mother-in-law and grandfather, two extraordinary souls who this year will be spending their first holidays out of their longtime homes after transitioning into senior living facilities. I know intellectually that they are both in wonderful and caring environments that are providing them with a better quality of life than they could now have in the houses they lived in for many years, but I still have a tinge of melancholy about me with the thought of them both spending this season somewhere other than the physical places that I will forever place them in my memories.
Some angels show off their wings by flapping them in your face and some of them hide them by leading first with soulful eyes that tell you immediately that they are extraordinary spirits. As I introduced myself to Amanda as she lingered over a single perfect glass of wine waiting for co-workers to join her for a seasonal celebration, I understood that I was meeting one of those saints who walk amongst we ordinary humans. My encounter with her did my heart a world of good as I thought of the aged loved ones in my life.
Amanda explained to me that she works at a senior living facility that specializes in caring for people who are dealing with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Hearing her talk about the sort of special attention she and her co-workers, who also happen to be her blood relatives as hers is a family business, was that ice cream cone moment for me. I had been thinking about my mother-in-law who has slide further and further into dementia over the past year, and now a woman responsible for showing love and warmth to similar seniors was giving me assurance that she was in a good place. Amanda had handed me my own ice cream cone of comfort.
“The residents have such fun at the holidays,” said Amanda. “We have a great time playing games and singing songs. It’s a magical time of family.” Amanda beamed as she talked about how she has shaped her days around attending to the needs of people who have had full and productive lives, those who haven’t chosen the path towards dedicated care, but those who need it most in their later years. What struck me hard about this divine lady was the full force of heart and love that she displayed in her every thought and spoken word. I will forever place images of my grandfather and mother-in-law in the homes that they created founded on love of family and a dedication to good, honest hard work, but the gift of knowing that people like Amanda are now giving them moment-to-moment specialized care is one of the greatest graces I could have ever imagined in this season of love.
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