Living each day in 24-hour increments...this seems to be the means in which many of us are managing to cope during a moment in time that for most of us, cannot be compared to any other. At least, that’s the way that I am coping at the present time!
I’ve shared so many times before that May is my absolute favorite month of the whole twelve! It’s a symbol of rebirth; a time to get a fresh start; a time to be renewed as we watch nature morph into blooms and buds!
So, I’m choosing to be hopeful! While it seems most days that we are surrounded by new challenges in trying desperately to navigate through the ‘COVID-19 currents’; we cannot lose sight of the tiny things that are happening all around us! Just yesterday, the daughter of one of our residents who visits at least twice each day to stand outside her mother’s window to have a conversation with her discovered a bird’s nest inside the bushes with two tiny eggs. She shared the photo with me and it filled me with hope! I know, it’s just two little bird’s eggs...but it reminded me that nature and life are alive and well!
In these 24-hour increments of life, our residents continue to thrive; and it’s because of the amazing staff that we are blessed with each day. They realize that when the residents are isolated from their families, it can cause anxiety and depression; and so they try their best to entertain, and to comfort, and to try to help them make sense of it all.
We are also blessed with amazing families and an incredibly supportive Newtown community. So many of you have ‘hugged’ us from a distance; have sent in cards and flowers for our residents; have provided lunches for a staff that is leaving their families to come care for others. Many of you have donated toward the purchase of 20 iPads which will continue to be used to bring the outside world into the rooms of our residents!
And for all these reasons; I’m hopeful. We continue to be COVID-19 free in our resident population. To date, we’ve had one employee test positive. We pray every day as we all are challenged by the headlines in the news. We read those too. And we pray. And we are cautious. And we make decisions that are so hard but we know they are best for all of us.
So I ask that you be hopeful with me. Be hopeful as we celebrate this season of Spring. Be hopeful as we celebrate and honor our Mother’s on Sunday! Be hopeful that inside every 24-hours, experiences and moments are tucked away and unnoticed, but ready to be discovered and celebrated! So go find those moments! And know that we will continue to care for your moms and your dads...and one another.
Happy Mother’s Day,
Michelle
Michelle Knobloch
Chief Executive Officer
