My Wild Irish Rose

Another one of my favorite parts of the day was when we would sing. I now know tons of songs from way before my time. It was also interesting to see how the seniors could remember tunes of songs they hadn't heard for decades. Music seems to be something that we keep far back in our brains, but can recall by simply hearing a few notes. I loved singing along to the different songs with the seniors. There was one man named Ben, who could remember just about every song he's ever heard. No matter what we were talking about he would say, "Isn't there a song about that?" A few minutes later he would be singing a song I've never heard, but sure enough exists. I loved to watch the faces of the seniors when they heard an old song that they remembered. They would always have a story that went along with the different songs we played. 

Art

Art projects and crafts were always a large part of our day at the center. We found that it kept the seniors engaged and interested. It also gave them a way to express themselves, and show their creativity. They felt a sense of accomplishment and success when they were able to complete a project. It also gave them something to show to their families when they got home. Almost all the seniors found enjoyment in these projects. We would color, watercolor, paint, cut, glue, and fold until they couldn't anymore. We would make crafts that they could give away as gifts. We made Mother's and Father's day gifts that they were able to give to their loved ones. I was amazed at how created some of the seniors at the center were, and how much care and precision they put into their projects. There were some seniors who seemed to shred their papers into a million tiny pieces when we were cutting things, and also some that were not able to hold a pair of scissors. Once again, we just worked with their functioning levels in order to create something with their own abilities.

Senior Wii Games

On several of the days I worked, I played games on the Wii with the seniors. They loved playing these games. They thought it was so funny that they could control the person on the screen. It was very difficult to teach them how to do it the first time. No matter how many times I would tell them not to push any buttons, they always would. One of the women there would make me laugh so hard. When you miss the ball when you are playing baseball on the Wii, it makes a weird sort of buzzing noise. Every time it did this, the woman thought she had farted. I thought I would die laughing at her reactions every time. She would always giggle to herself, and then say excuse me. I told her time and time again that it was the machine making the noise, but she always insisted that it was her. I don't think I went a single day working at the center where I wasn't able to find something to laugh at. They taught me that it is never too late to teach an old dog a new trick. I encouraged them all to go home and ask their grandchildren to play the Wii with them. I thought it would be priceless to see the look on their grandchildrens' faces when they found out that their 80 year old grandparent knew how to play games on the Wii.

Bowling

One of the senior's favorite games that we played with them was bowling. We played all different games like bean-bag toss, horse shoes, croquet, ring-toss, and balloons and noodles with them. They always voted for bowling when we gave them the option though. It was so fun to see how happy they would get when they would get a strike. I also loved watching when one senior would help another one out. Some of them were very unsteady on their feet, so they would need the assistance of someone else to help them keep their balance. One senior with a slightly higher functioning level than the rest would always be the first to jump up and help someone who looked like they could use a hand. I thought it was very endearing that even at the age of 90, this woman could still find joy out of helping someone else out.

Patriotic Week

This week was filled with so many great stories that the men shared from their experiences in the different wars they were enlisted in. During one reminiscing time, one of the seniors broke down. He told us how he has never felt worse than when he had to make his first kill. He described the dark aspect of the wars that we usually try not to talk about or remember as citizens of this country. He began to cry, and almost everyone in the room got emotional. It was hard to hear about his experiences, because we usually try to honor our soldiers for the courage and bravery they show by going into war. We often forget that many of these soldiers did not want to participate in the war, but were forced to by the government. That was one of the most difficult reminiscing times I had to sit through.

Rex and Dan

These two men are very good friends. I love to watch the way their faces light up when they see each other at the center. I was also able to see the sadness and disappointment they had when one of them was not able to come to the center, because of doctor's appointments or something like that. They taught me how important it is to have social interaction even into your later years. Dan would always go around to all the men at the center and shake their hands. He loved to pat everyone on the back, and always had such a big smile when he saw someone he knew. Dan had a stroke a few years ago, and has a lot of trouble speaking and coming up with certain words. Rex would take his time in trying to understand what Dan was trying to say, and help him get out words that seemed to get stuck. It was so cute to watch them going around from activity to activity always saving seats for one another, and cheering each other on.

State Fair

One of the days during my internship, we put on a state fair for the seniors at the center. We had them buy fake tickets, play carnival games, judge the animals they had "brought", eat typical fair foods, and learn about different fairs. I was in charge of coming up with a game for the seniors to play that would remind them of their childhood. I decided to have them play a game of marbles using a sheet over the pool table. They could all remember when they were younger playing a game of marbles in the dirt. They told me about how they would play for hours on end. They also said that they used to play in a way that the winner would keep all the marbles that they were able to knock out of the circle. They had a lot of fun playing marbles, and were able to flick the marbles fairly well.