May Angels Lead You In

It hasn't been the best week for me. Not for any particular reason, but just one of those weeks. I'd rather be at the beach... or on my parent's deck... or drinking a margarita with Deirdre (which I'll be doing NEXT WEEK!!!)... you get the point. But lucky for me, I work with a population that has the potential to brighten my day, change my outlook, and remind me of all there is to be grateful for. I have a male spanish resident who just recently moved in, and I think I've found my "Tony". Tony was my all-time favorite resident at the last facility I worked in... I have more stories about him than I do some of my best friends. Tony was special - losing him was like losing a grandfather. He made it easy to get up in the morning for work. My new resident doesn't have the same (inappropriate) sense of humor as Tony, but he measures up on the sweet side. He rolled into my office the other day and we sat for a while, chatting about his interests, family, and whatnot. He is a very agreeable man and doesn't seem to have a worry in the world. Every two minutes or so (yes, dementia), he would tell me, "You're beautiful, just beautiful." I couldn't help but smile. It doesn't matter if the person giving the compliment is 15 or 85... it always provides a boost of self-confidence. Later that day I was skimming his chart and came across his initial assessment, completed on his day of admission. Beside the medical jargon it stated, "Resident likes to tell people they're pretty". Can you hear the sound of Jaclyn's ego deflating? I couldn't stop laughing when I read it. I recently did the beading activity with residents, and this fine gentleman rolled up to the group and started working on a bracelet. When I told him what a great job he was doing, he responded, "You know why? I'm sitting with five angels. Five beautiful angels." The other ladies at the table smiled and I thanked him for being so sweet. When I saw that he had stopped working on the bracelet, I sat beside him and asked if I could help out. He asked if I would and I said, "Alright, let's see what I can do." He quickly responded, "Angels can do anything." Maybe my week wasn't so terrible after all...