She’s here now.
The move to Colorado actually went much better than I anticipated. We got my mom packed without incident. And she was calm through the whole flight from Michigan to Colorado. She stayed at our house for a few days and yesterday she moved into the guest apartment at her new retirement village.
So far so good.
Aside from obsessing about not having a wristwatch she seems pretty happy. Apparently we packed all of her watches and she can’t seem to function without knowing what time it is. Her things will arrive in a few days and once I get her permanent apartment unpacked she’ll be able to monitor the time. Of course she will then find something else to obsess about but at least she’ll know what time it is!
I’ve been with her at ‘the village’ every day this week and I find it to be a delightful experience! I’ve had a few elderly men and hit on me. Of course they say something like “You sure are pretty,” and then a few minutes later tell me they suffer from macular degeneration but hey, a compliment is a compliment!
Perhaps the most wonderful part of this experience for me is seeing first-hand the power of attitude. Much like my experience in observing older people at the recreation center, I find that the spirit of the people my mom lives around contagiously positive!
When I walk through the doors of the building I can feel the positive energy that permeates the environment. Most of the residents use a walker. Some have portable oxygen tanks. I’m fairly certain several can’t see or hear very well. But I see smiles everywhere! Literally everywhere. I have yet to speak to a resident that isn’t positive, joyful and playful. It is truly amazing. I would have thought that being elderly and compromised would foster negativity but in this place that just simply isn’t the case!
Every day I speak with Ray. He sits at the front door like a sentry; walker at the ready. It doesn’t matter what time I arrive, I can always count on Ray to be sitting by the front door to greet me. I’ve fallen madly in love with Joe who has such a happy countenance I can’t help but feel joyful in his presence. When Joe moved to ‘the Village’ he was, literally, dying of a broken heart. His wife’s death plunged him into a deep and deadly depression. His desperate family moved him to this retirement community where he now thrives and absolutely beams as he wanders the halls.
One after another I encounter joyful senior citizens…people whose lives have been reduced to 600 square foot apartments, multiple medications and implements to aid their mobility…people whose days are fewer and fewer.
But they smile.
And they laugh.
As I observe this happy community I see something else happening. Something truly remarkable. I see this attitude rubbing off on my mother! My mother who was raised by prickly parents of her own. My mother whose guilt overwhelmed her when my father took his own life. My mother who later married a man who projected a nice outer image but spoke evil, angry words over her on a daily basis. My mother who has always thought her worth came from the beauty and outward appearance she now believes has faded.
In just a few short days, my mother is starting to respond to the positive energy of her surroundings.
The change isn’t huge. Yet. One would have to know my mother to even notice that it is happening. But I believe in the long run I will see changes in my mother I never thought were possible. And all because of the positive energy and attitude that is heaped on her every day.
And it has me thinking about the importance of heaping positive energy onto every person I see every day.
The residents my mother resides with could easily be mean and negative. But, in spite of their age and disabilities they choose joy. They chose to be thankful for every day they are given. It is easy to choose to be negative. It is much more courageous to choose to be positive.
I want to follow the examples of Ray and Joe and all the others I’ve been blessed to encounter in the past few days.
I choose joy.
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