I rode my bike today like usual. My face was frozen.
Friday, November 21, 2008
9:55am-noon
Observation
I talked a lot with Kari today, who is the 20-something girl who is in charge of the volunteers that come from the college. She’s the recreational director for Cardinal Hill. I know observations are supposed to be centered towards the residents I speak with, but Kari amazes me. She has this positive disposition as she interacts with the residents. I wonder if she’s just worked there long enough to move past the brokenness. She’s a single mom with three kids. The youngest is two. Her younger sister and brother (both in 20s) also work at Cardinal Hill. I think her stepmother works there as well. I wonder how she does it, caring for young kids while working at a job where two hours of it exhausts me. I talked to a couple of residents about Thanksgiving, which made me realize that nobody at Cardinal Hill gets Thanksgiving off. People have to be there 24/7. I asked her about it, and she said she gets it off… which means someone else doesn’t. Today I was just observing how demanding a job at a nursing home is. I know I couldn’t do it, and I respect anyone who can.
Introspection
I have a slight schedule now when I go to Cardinal Hill. When I walk in, Jack is usually painting with Kari’s help. I take over until Jack gets tired, which usually lasts 30 minutes or less. While Jack doesn’t need my help, I stand next to him at the front of the dining hall and just watch. I watch the residents. Most of them are sleeping at the tables, so I look at their faces in detail, trying to imagine them before this place. Sometimes I’ll think about what I’m going to write in the day’s journal. I love that time of quiet observation. After Jack is done painting, I’ll clean out his paints and brushes and wheel his painting stand out of the way. Then I try to find Kari, who will suggest a resident for me to talk to. The next hour and a half are awkwardly spent trying to make conversation with someone who a) doesn’t hear me, b) can’t speak complete sentences, or c) keeps falling asleep. I don’t love it, but at least I have a schedule. The first several times I went to Cardinal Hill, I had no system for anything. I enjoy my schedule, my list of things to do. I thought of that in regards to my faith. I’m prone to do the same thing to Christianity or church. I make it a timetable, things to check off my list. Missions trip… check. Read Bible…. check. Hold the door open for someone… check. If I can get through my day like that, then I feel okay. More and more, though, I‘m being exposed to people that hold totally different, liberal views of faith… and I’m seeing there’s another way to do this, a way that’s less structured and more about letting the Spirit move. I’m a work in progress, so we’ll see. I just thought it was an interesting comparison.
One week left.
