Some thoughts on how the recent storm affected the Senior Living Community where I live.
None of us were really prepared for the big storm that hit our community a few days ago. We were without power for roughly a day and a half. We did not have the problems our neighbors near and far had, but we did have our own experiences.
The storm hit late afternoon Tuesday, with the power outage happening immediately. Tuesday evening, in a darkened building was interesting. Because of living in a CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community we had generator power for some of the public areas, but none for the independent living apartments. What a lot of us noticed right away was residents really looking our for each other. Some had various levels of uncertainty, mobility issues, vision issues, which had to be dealt with. People just began to reach out to each other, helping find hearing aids, listen to each others stories, helping people get back to their apartments, and so on, little things that meant a lot to folks who were upset. Even at our age, we were growing and learning a lot. It has been an enjoyable experience as we were coming to learn more about each other and our various journeys. Heard many wonderful stories, even told a few myself.
Finding hot plugs where we could recharge our phones became a high priority. A small room just outside the dining area had these plugs, so this room became the new social gathering center for many of us till late Tuesday evening and all day and evening Wednesday. Families came in from outside to take care of their own. Kindness was happening all over, and we noticed it, and began to live it ourselves. This all just grew. It was wonderful. Really pretty cheerful.
Then there was the staff. Within minutes of the storm hitting Tuesday afternoon and till late in the evening, members of the staff were knocking on our doors for various reasons, but really they were checking on our welfare. The kitchen made quick adjustments so food would be much more available, since residents had no power in our apartments. We always knew the staff was good, but we really experienced how good they are during all this. As difficult as the new adjustments and situations were, they all did what they had to do with smiles on their face, and a wonderfully cheerful attitude. This is all the staff, everyone — food service, maintenance, housekeeping, office staff, front desk, the young staff in the dining rooms. The Concierge Office continues to be ever more amazing. As a “older person” may I say with the greatest admiration, respect, and appreciation, their youthful exuberance and joy is contagious and kept us all in a happy mode. These good people kept coming up with new and creative ways to meet residents needs as they came to be known, such as finding ways to help residents whose meds have to be kept chilled, special needs for oxygen pumps, sleep aids, etc.
We’ve been expressing the hope that the good we experienced and lived will continue, and that we will not go back to business as usual. We’ve always been quietly watching out for each other in different ways, but the storm made us aware of how could our community – residents, staff, visitors, tradesmen – really are. There is a growing mutual respect and appreciation between residents and staff.
From my perspective this all was God being God. There was no reference to religion, yet everything that was going on reflected strong gospel or spiritual values – people simply being there for others., looking beyond our own comfort and convenience. Religious talk and terminology doesn’t come close to the goodness I experienced in all this, and it is still going on. I live in a good place, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Just sayin . . .