Balloons

When I entered Rosewood this morning I saw Sarah in her usual spot in the lobby. Sarah is usually asleep in a chair by the window, her walker hanging with multiple bags and baskets in front of her. Sarah has a rather attractive red wig but, unfortunately, she has to hold it on with multiple bobby pins at her hairline which detracts a bit from the effect. Sarah is the mail deliverer for the building and she takes that job very seriously. After the incoming mail has been sorted she walks the halls delivering it to each guest double and triple checking that the right person is getting the right mail. I've seen Sarah dancing joyfully with the one mobile man at a couple of Rosewood "parties." She is, to use one of Lisa's descriptors, "quirky".

Today Sarah had a red and a green balloon tied to her walker. For some reason she had received a couple balloons left over from yesterday's "National Nursing Home Week" party. (I'm not making that up!)

As I walked toward Mom's room I passed the assisted area---the dining/day room for people who need supervision during the day and help to eat. Most of the time these people are either asleep or are blankly staring into space. Today, however, a nursing assistant and two residents were playing with a ballon. They were "bopping" the balloon back and forth to each other. The residents, whom I thought were completely "out of it", were engaged and smiling---just like our boys were excited when we did the same thing with them when they were little.

What is this power of balloons?

People routinely put pink or blue balloons in front of their homes to announce a birth. Balloons announce "Here's the party." We displayed purple balloons in front of the house when David was accepted into Northwestern and then did it again when Kevin had the same good news. A Happy Birthday latex balloon can last for months and continue to remind the recipient that someone cares for them.

A lot of happiness from some simple latex. How cool is that!