She's Alive!!!!

For anyone who has read the blog lately and wondered if I (Kim) am still alive, I am. Between work and visitors (Lucas failed to mention the visit from Maggen Stone and Dr. Jordan - they didn't come together - two weekends before his parents came) It's been a little hectic. Now, I would love to tell you all about my job, all that I have been doing the last 4 weeks, and all that is coming. But that would take forever. So, instead I will tell you about one event from this week that rocked my world. We had scheduled a Hawaiian luau over lunch on Wednesday. It was originally going to be outside and we had a professional hula dancer coming, and inflatable limbo set (we were going to set it high enough so wheel chairs could pass through), tropical decorations, Bryan (who is an activities assistant, but also a DJ on the side) brought in his sound system and tropical music, and a Hawaiian meal. BUT it was a crazy week, and the weather was absolutely awful, and we had to move it inside which meant less room (which meant not all of the residents could come). So we had to ask the residents and make lists of those who wanted to come and the morning of the luau we discovered that we had about 20 more residents coming than could currently fit in the room. It truly looked like we were going to have a disaster. But on of the administrators took it upon himself to drastically rearrange the room and bring in different tables to accomodate more residents, and everyone in the building (housekeeping, maintenance, social workers, CNA's, nurses, administration) helped with transporting residents and serving, and we ended up with about 15 more residents than we had on the lists but they ALL fit. Then the hula dancing started (and here I must add that the directors of maintenance and housekeeping - both males - had us order them grass skirts and coconut bras ahead of time that they wore to the luau and they jumped right in and did some hula dancing of their own) and the residents loved it. Some of them smiled more than they ever have before (granted most of these were men...oh the power of a coconut bra...). We ended up extending it almost a 1/2 hour over the time limit becuase everyone was having so much fun. In the end residents and staff alike were telling us that it was the most fun they've ever had at Brooksby. It's things like that, that make me so happy to be where I am. The best part is this wasn't that special of an occassion. While it turned out to be an extra spectacular time, we have similar events at least twice a month. It is truly an amazing place to work.
I have to add that the activities staff has been an amazing group to work with. I have learned so much, and continue to be amazed every day at how talented they are and how dedicated they are to the residents. And the residents are also amazing. They all know I'm new and they constantly encourage and help me, making me feel so welcome. I LOVE my job.
The only problem is that I love it so much I could stay there forever, and often do work overtime and bring work home (which is why no one has heard from me in such a long time). But starting Sunday I have a 3 day "weekend" and I am planning on using that time to reply to e-mails and phone calls. I love you all so much and thank you for all the prayers when I was looking for a job. I have definitely been blessed with this opportunity.