According to the U.S. Census bureau 18% of Lake County is 65 or over. That is twice the national average, and yet it is still so easy to forget about one of the most under served parts of our community. As Miss Lake County I strive to help people in my community from all walks of life, and I felt it was necessary to spend time with the people that make up almost 1/5 of our population!The first nursing home Alice and I visited was Rocky Point Care Center on Grandparents day, and we were some of the only visitors. The residents were so happy to see us, and Alice learned how to play domino's from some of the ladies.
Over the last few months Alice and I have frequently gone to Evergreen Nursing Home and Rocky Point to visit with the residents and lend a helping hand to the staff. We went to the Christmas parties for both facilities and helped serve cookies and beverages. At evergreen we even sang some carols (there is a reason why we are both dancers)! It was incredible when some of the residents even joined in and sang some of there favorite Christmas songs!
It's so rewarding visiting with the residents, and we never leave with out an interesting story or a life lesson. One of my favorites was with Honey who we first met on Thanksgiving. We went to her room to visit and got to meet a lot of her family (her son-in-law cooked a traditional dinner and they all came in to eat with her). Honey has a quick wit and she keeps me laughing every time. A few visits later she told me I wasn't allowed to come back until I learned a joke to tell her because she believed I need to work on my personality. During the Christmas party I told her the joke that I had spent days preparing, luckily she loved it! She's been telling it to the other residents since.
This is some of the most rewarding work I get to do. I love to get my hands dirty and really help people. Don't get me wrong, parades are a blast, but this is what it's all about for me.
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