Reflections
Since the beginning of the New Year we have lost three friends here in Waltonwood. Considering the ages and ailments of the residents that is not amazing. There is a Privacy code so that some people just disappear, and we don’t know whether they went next door, to Assisted Living or Memory Care, moved away to be with family, or passed away. Perhaps I wrote about that before. For many, that is disappointing. It leaves voids, even though most of the time you have not been really closely connected.
On the other hand, some families want to honor the memory of their parents, and they do that in a variety of ways. Once, a Memorial Service was held in the Theatre downstairs, with someone playing the guitar. Just recently, one family put a beautiful flower arrangement next to a picture of the deceased with his or her husband. Today, a family arranged for a Memorial Service in the Garden Room. A lovely, small room full of potted plants and a view of the garden provides seating for about twenty-five people plus an overflow of walkers and wheel chairs into the hall. Afterwards, people could talk to the family members and enjoy a small reception. It was a lovely memorial for a good friend. They handed out a wonderful poem that I want to quote below.
Sometimes…
Usually when we think we have it all under control
certain events happen
with such swiftness and such intensity
that they point our lives in a direction
that they were never meant to go.
They leave scars that can never be erased.
Those around us may try to help
but ultimately
they feel helpless in their inability to undo
what can never be undone.
No one can change these events.
We can’t pretend they never happened.
For those of us who have gone through experiences
that may have altered our destinies in one way or another
the only sane option we have is
to fill up our lives
with enough kindness, enough trust and enough friends
so that the painful memories are diffused,
dimmed by the knowledge that the right people
are always thee when you need them.
And those people, the ones who really listen
should forever be cherished and protected
because they are the ones who help us heal.
Food for thought…
It’s a Wonderful Life!
Until next time,
Ronny