Yesterday, I was out celebrating with my Oma - my Dutch Grandmother (Aunty Helen's Mother In Law) with afternoon tea with the family at her retirement/nursing home. She had turned 99 years young on Thursday; and has only just been placed in one of these homes recently.
We all got dressed up and sat around a large table with her at the head. She looked lovely in her purple top.
But it made me wonder, as I was shown around the place, about the other people in there - about how things were for them when they were younger. Where they daredevils in their youth? What were their families like? Did they work or were they home-bodies, staying at home to care for the kids. Had they been to war or didn't they pass the physical?
I knew deep down inside, they were all young once and even though these places really spook me, I know that if/when I end up in one of these places, I'm going to have somebody looking at me while I'm there and probably feeling the same way.
I also wondered if any of these people's families visited them; so see how they were. Did any one of their family members bring them flowers? Did they bring anything for them to do or come to take them out to lunch or chat with them? Or did their families put them there and never came to see them; thinking they were too much of a burden (as some families do unfortunately).
The place Oma's in has a lovely lot of things around the back. There's a phone booth, a bus stop and a cafe where they can all spend time if they wish. There's a resident dog called Bailey (and he is a real sweetheart too) and a cat who doesn't like to be patted, but I think that's just a personality clash really. It's not a huge place, and so each person is looked after well; and it's nice and quiet - even though the main road isn't far away.
I know Oma is visited often by family and she's much-loved by us all. And seeing how long she's been with us, I'm sure she'll be around for some time yet. So, what do you think of nursing homes? I know there's good ones and bad ones around. But I'm not a big fan of them really. I would hate it to have my life whittled down to a corner of a room - it's just not me. But I guess as I get older, my thoughts on this will change. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.
We all got dressed up and sat around a large table with her at the head. She looked lovely in her purple top.
But it made me wonder, as I was shown around the place, about the other people in there - about how things were for them when they were younger. Where they daredevils in their youth? What were their families like? Did they work or were they home-bodies, staying at home to care for the kids. Had they been to war or didn't they pass the physical?
I knew deep down inside, they were all young once and even though these places really spook me, I know that if/when I end up in one of these places, I'm going to have somebody looking at me while I'm there and probably feeling the same way.
I also wondered if any of these people's families visited them; so see how they were. Did any one of their family members bring them flowers? Did they bring anything for them to do or come to take them out to lunch or chat with them? Or did their families put them there and never came to see them; thinking they were too much of a burden (as some families do unfortunately).
The place Oma's in has a lovely lot of things around the back. There's a phone booth, a bus stop and a cafe where they can all spend time if they wish. There's a resident dog called Bailey (and he is a real sweetheart too) and a cat who doesn't like to be patted, but I think that's just a personality clash really. It's not a huge place, and so each person is looked after well; and it's nice and quiet - even though the main road isn't far away.
I know Oma is visited often by family and she's much-loved by us all. And seeing how long she's been with us, I'm sure she'll be around for some time yet. So, what do you think of nursing homes? I know there's good ones and bad ones around. But I'm not a big fan of them really. I would hate it to have my life whittled down to a corner of a room - it's just not me. But I guess as I get older, my thoughts on this will change. Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.
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