As each year passes, I often reflect on the past and all of the amazing stories I have had the privilege to be a part of. I have thought about this blog for a while now and how it would be a great way for me to share with you all of those moments.
This picture means a lot to me because it signifies how I feel about Spirit of Hope and what we do for others.
"We are all in this together"
It is the year 2014 and we have just opened(rented) our first little cottage style house in Carson City, NV. I had enough room in this tiny home for four people. I just had this one home so, looking back now, I realize how easy it was! I would go to the home every day, five days a week and make sure that our folks were doing well. Sometimes I would cook for them, and I would certainly clean. I changed bedsheets and celebrated their successes and their birthdays. When I had a resident go to a higher level of care, or I had to ask someone to leave, I would reach out to my community to let them know that I had an available room. (At this point in time, I practically had to beg my community to place people with me)
I had a little lady that was a bit hard to handle for lack of a better word. One day I came to the house and walked in to find an enormous amount of heat hit me in the face! It was in the cooler months, but this was really over the top. As I walked in, one of my elderly men said to me, " Ellen, can you please tell Sue (name is changed) to stop walking around the house in a swimsuit and turn down the heat"? Needless to say, I went quickly to the thermostat only to find it had been turned up to 86! I did indeed find "Sue" in a swimsuit and promptly told her to get into her regular clothes. This same woman also took things a part. For instance, at 2:00 am one morning she decided to take a part her metal daybed. She woke the entire household up! I did feel kind of lucky though because her previous landlord told me that she took an entire stove a part one day! I did warn her against another repeat of that but did not think to tell her NOT to take a part the bed!