Day 1
Today is October 6, 2016. I have decided to volunteer at the Lubbock Health Care Center nursing home. I am immediately intimidated and out of my comfort zone. I bring in my husband and my son to try and ease my nerves, only to find out that my baby is not allowed due to health reasons. (Go figure right?) Anyways, I assured my wonderful husband that I would be fine. He knew how uncomfortable I felt and was being the protector of me that I love him being. Off they went! After about 10 minutes of paper work and a background check later, I was on my way to "helping the elderly".
Let me just assure you that I did not feel as if I was making a difference, I went in with the mindset of "Let's get these 15 hours over with". I walked into the dining room, where most of the activities take place, to see that it was fancy nail time for the ladies. A normal girl would have loved this. Me being the awkward person that I am, who also does NOT enjoy the touch of other people or the other way around, I was already ready to run out of there. But I did not. After introducing myself to each of the ladies, and them introducing themselves to me, I grabbed some gloves, took a seat, and began speaking to a woman who I will refer to as Miss L.
Miss L was sweet, quiet, yet spunky. We immediately hit it off when I asked her about her kids. Miss L had 3 children whom she absolutely adored, and 11 grandchildren! She spoke about them with such pride. The only thing I could think, "Why is she here?". I finished her nails, and she very pleased with them.
Next, there was who we will call LS. LS had dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and a voice that made me think "you do not want to get on her bad side!". Apparently, all LS ever wants is for her nails to be filed. I finished them in good time, but I did not speak much to her because I could not find a common interest in conversation. But then, she asked if I could paint her nails the same color as Miss L! I felt excitement. I guess no matter how young or old you are, there are just certain intangible impulses that make us girls.
Lastly, there was P. P was a bit on the demanding side. She even started coaching me on how to file her nails the "right" way. To my defense with the nail polish, it was very old and seemed like the bottle had not been opened in a while! So of course, it was clumpy. It was the color she wanted, so onward I went with painting her nails. The first one came out okay. The second one, it was bad.. She saw it, said "YIKES", and I immediately fixed it. (I wanted to just crawl away!) Her nails did not turn out bad actually, but she was still so upset about the one bad nail that she wheeled herself off and stayed away until dinner time! (I am so sorry P!!!)
Nail time was FINALLY over! (Thank God) It was time for some card games. I have never played UNO, but I am a quick learner and also competitive in everything that I do. I played with 2 of my ladies that I painted nails with, Miss L, and LS, as well as 3 other women. As we sat there and let me tell you, them ladies can kick some serious tail at UNO, I realized that this is their life. I knew that once my time was up, I was going to get to go home to my loving husband and babies. After UNO, what do they have? Dinner and then what? I have to wonder, what makes the world go round for these elders?
After 5 games of losing at UNO, lots of laughs, and MANY angry moments because of the +4 card, it was time for me to leave. As I was leaving, Miss L told me that she could not wait to have me back in there. I thought I would leave with the feeling of relief, knowing that I had completed 3 of my 15 hours. But instead, I have this hold inside of me. I am not oblivious anymore. This is real life, this is their life. It is time for a change. Here I am.
Stay tuned y'all, this journey is only beginning!
Jordan Testerman
