My grandmother is doing so well at her new assisted living residence. About a week after she moved in, she started to become unhappy. But then she sat down with the director and told her that she was bored. And here is something you don’t see too often – the director listened and did something about it.
Now she is playing Scrabble and other challenging games every day. And here is the “icing on the cake” – the director and her staff have done something we could never get my grandmother to do – she is practicing piano every day. She was a teacher and concert pianist for decades, but in the last 10 years or so, we’ve had to drag her to the piano. She’s inherently lazy and would rather just snooze. Not at Newbridge! Every day she works on her pieces, and the results are evident – her mind is sharper, she is more present, and she is happier. She told my uncle (her brother and confidant) that she couldn’t think of any reason to be unhappy here.
And then there are those painful hips. This weekend I witnessed some things I hadn’t seen in years. My grandmother came out to visit us, and she got herself up and out of the car by herself, with no complaints (highly unusual). Then she made it up the 12 steps to the porch, again without complaint (unheard of). And the best part? Later that afternoon, she went back down those stairs and took a walk. Took a walk! OK, it was just to the next house, but none of us could remember the last time she had been able to do that. The staff at Newbridge deserves all the credit.