Finding the Magic
Well it's taken me a little time to feel ready to begin writing. If nothing else, I feel it will be fun to just write down my thoughts, and put them on a page to see! I have just finished my day of work, it was a long one as I did a double shift, so I started at 7:00am and finished at 9:00pm. We are very short staffed, and once in a while I will work Overtime. I work in a Nursing Home for the elderly as a nurse's aide. We have 75 residents, many with dimentia of some sort, Alzheimers Disease, stroke victims, various chronic diseases and the usual degenerative diseases that come with very old age, oh yes, and constipation, that's a big one!! The average age is around 90 years old, with a few young ones in their late 6o's early 70's. I have been working in this Home for 21 years....almost half my life!!! So it doesn't really feel like a job anymore, just another part of my life. A part which I am appreciating more all the time because there is something new for me to learn everyday. Let's call it finding the magic.
As I was leaving work tonite, I was remembering the first day I started doing this type of work. It was when I was 16 , in Saskatchewan where I was born and raised. My Father owned a gas station and we were expected to work there pumping gas. Feeling awkward in the world and painfully shy, I hated this job dealing with the public. So on my 16th birthday, I walked into a nursing home, applied for a job and got hired the same day! There was no education or experience needed then. I didn't have a CLUE why or how I ended up there, but there I was! And I liked it, I was comfortable around these people and I could just be me! I may have thought I was helping them but they were helping me, and unknowingly, so began the start to a spiritual journey. Being young and naive was a blessing for me because I knew nothing except that I had a very deep regard for the elderly. And as the saying goes, when you give respect you get respect.....and it's not about what you do but how you do it. This is where the magic lies in Life. And until today, I am still learning from these elders and finding the Magic.
As I was leaving work tonite, I was remembering the first day I started doing this type of work. It was when I was 16 , in Saskatchewan where I was born and raised. My Father owned a gas station and we were expected to work there pumping gas. Feeling awkward in the world and painfully shy, I hated this job dealing with the public. So on my 16th birthday, I walked into a nursing home, applied for a job and got hired the same day! There was no education or experience needed then. I didn't have a CLUE why or how I ended up there, but there I was! And I liked it, I was comfortable around these people and I could just be me! I may have thought I was helping them but they were helping me, and unknowingly, so began the start to a spiritual journey. Being young and naive was a blessing for me because I knew nothing except that I had a very deep regard for the elderly. And as the saying goes, when you give respect you get respect.....and it's not about what you do but how you do it. This is where the magic lies in Life. And until today, I am still learning from these elders and finding the Magic.
posted by Wendy at 9:14 PM
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