Supper May 3, 2010

There are plenty of frozen dinners in Miss M’s freezer, and some days I will just heat her up one of those. Especially in the middle of the beginning of my job, when the start-up glamor and work ethic had worn off and when she was still mostly closed off and aggravated that I was there at all.

Honestly, I don’t get aggravated back very easily when I encounter this kind of feeling. Because maybe I’ll be a sweet, easygoing old lady…. but maybe, more likely, I will be at least a little grouchy, stubborn, and want to be independent as much as I can. And come on, being old gives you a little more license to be grouchy, so why not just go for it!

Now she has gotten used to me. Last week she even told me to my face that she liked me– whoa!! Strong words for her. And I like her back. So there.

So instead of just killing time doing chores, I try to engage her as much as possible, even though its risky cause she’s not always in the best of moods. I bring in flowers from her backyard. I’ll stop on the way to her house and bring her a Jamocha shake or a lemon danish. And instead of just going the frozen dinner route, I try to come up with something for supper that is nutritious, colorful, and easy to chew… a successful day is her eyes lighting up when I bring her supper, followed by her eating all of it! I kinda like the challenge.

Side note: she loves butter. Not margarine. Butter. I just think that’s fun. And coffee. (Sounds like Val!)

In other words… I am really in love with my job. I can’t get over how much I love it. I’m so grateful to be getting paid to show care for some really neat and awesome elderly folks. Trying to get better at it.