March 11

Mel: Nate and I went on vacation for a few days to Boston/New Hampshire/Maine...it was a really great break and much needed time away/alone. My parents watched the kids and I think that act of kindness made my year..haha We are a bit behind on posting, I have to gather the kids tomorrow and write their stories~ Here are mine....


Sometimes it's hard for me to write my acts of kindness when they have to do with my residents at work. I feel like I don't know if I'm cheating because I am getting paid for being there. My job requirements are in the business office. I find myself, my heart getting wrapped up in the residents more and more. We've had quite a few deaths lately and I've been sad. I keep thinking of the ones I have started to love and spend time with every day and I know their time is short. I look for any and every opportunity to talk to them and walk with them when I am going from place to place or they come by to see me. Sometimes I feel like I can't write about it, or I shouldn't. Like it cheapens it or I don't want to seem like I am being nice to them because I have to..I don't really know what I'm saying I guess. Anyway, here are a few.


Housekeeping brought me a wallet of one of our residents. They had accidentally washed it. He was sick in the morning and they didn't see his wallet get caught up in his clothes and bedsheets. I took it and he had quite a lot of money for a nursing home. A few hundred dollars in there. I went to his room to let him know what happened. He was laying in bed and is always the neatest guy to talk too. I told him what happened and told him I was going to spread all his money out in his drawer to dry it out and he was to PUT IT BACK in his wallet asap. He told me he would and he promised. A few days went by and I ran into him and asked if he put his money back and he said he hadn't but that he would. The next day, he told our Administrator that he couldn't find the money and he thinks he either misplaced it or it got stolen. Sadly, lots of people steal from our residents. Sometimes it's staff and sometimes it's other residents not really sure what they are up too. I was CRAZY!!! I went into his room and looked everywhere. Housekeeping looked everywhere. It was no where to be found. I felt horrible and sad. I went into my Administrator's office and he could tell I was messed up over it. I just couldn't believe someone would take from him, it blew my mind. He called in a charge nurse and told her what was up. She said she would take a look. She walked back in about a minute later with a bag of prunes..wadded up in the bag were 200 worth of wet money! He had put it there to be safe. Surely, no one would look in the prunes. haha. I about cried I was so happy! I took that money and wouldn't give it back to him until It was totally dry. I set it out behind my desk, watched it all day and when it was dry, I put it in an envelope and put it in my safe. I wasn't going to give it back to him unless I watched him put every dollar back in his wallet. I guarded that money like it was a baby for the next week. : )