It takes a very specific type of person to be able to work at an assisted living community. I am very lucky to be one of those people.
Though it is an absolute blessing, it is a curse at the exact same time.
For those who don’t know, an assisted living community is a residential facility that offers long-term care and support to help residents maintain their independence while providing the care they need.
Over the summer last year, I started working part-time as a receptionist at one of these facilities.
The stories that my residents tell me and the experiences I have on a weekly basis are ones that truly cannot be made up.
One of a kind if you will.
If there is anything that anyone should know about working with the elderly, it is that they have absolutely no filter. It doesn’t matter who they are speaking to, they will say whatever is on their mind.
One thing for sure is, they make sure they are heard.
I remember when I first started, the newspaper was the most crucial aspect of this one lady’s life. We had the same routine. I would come in at 8 a.m. and put the newspaper in the common area. Like clockwork, my resident would come, walk right up to the table, and grab the newspaper. Except she didn’t just sit down and read it.
She stole it.
She would grab it, look around, fold it up, put it right in her purse before anyone else could read it, and walk out like nothing happened.
I guess I would call her a newspaper klepto.
Because of this, nobody ever had the chance to read the paper, and we had some avid readers too. So I had no choice but to tuck it away and bring it out when the other residents came into that area so they can read it first. Of course afterwards, it would go missing, but the effort was there to let as many of them read it as possible.
Then, the worst scenario happened.
The newspapers stopped coming.
When my resident had come over to ask for the paper and I had to break the news for her, she only had four words for me.
“You’re of no use.”
I was so shocked that all I could do was laugh. Well, inside I laughed.
What I really did was put on my best customer service voice and told her I would keep an eye out for any paper that comes my way.
That was only the beginning of these residents giving me continuous stories to tell.
