Aging is no cakewalk. Yet, living here at the Revel Senior Complex does its best to make it so. The staff and leadership are exceptional at making all 150 residents feel at home. As I have mentioned previously, there are daily activities from exercise classes to art and crafts, bus trips to shows, live theatre, restaurants, shopping at favorite markets, a heated saltwater indoor pool, meeting rooms, card games, lectures, movies, and special event parties almost weekly. Also, our Wednesday “Wine down,” where any drink is on the house. This and more contribute to why I write that Revel is truly a village and, for many living here, being part of a family or becoming so.
At a certain point living in one’s own home, whether it be an apartment, condo, or house, and even with family, is a challenge for the caregivers of those being cared for. They are family, but one can’t call such singular arrangements a village. I refer to Revel as a village with a goodly number of people in the same boat. Old is what we are; although Revel is not a “care facility,” it cares for each of us because it is what they do.
I recently met with the dining service crew and told them that their most important job is not delivering food but that they are “caregivers” and that all else is secondary. They have the power to make a difference in the residents’ daily lives simply by how they approach each of us.
They are mostly college students employed to serve us our meals. Still, I am telling them that they are not just servers but much more. They are caregivers with the power to affect residents with their care… and even love!
My job is to serve—I discover it is more—Caregiver/server
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