Saying goodbye

I went to the nursing home last night. I've been going there since I was a sophomore, and though some of the residents are different, there are a couple of them who I have known since that time. Included with this post is a picture of me with Jim and Dee. They're both very sweet, very consistent. They come every week. They're not very talkative - by that I mean it takes them a while to say anything that they're wanting to say. It takes patience to listen and to hear what they have to say.

Dee in particular exhibits a quiet trust. She's never been married and has no kids of her own. Her nephews come to see her every once in a while. She's had a stroke and is almost completely non-ambulatory. She can move her arms a little but doesn't have a lot of strength or mobility in her hands.
She's very encouraging to the other residents, and always loves seeing us.

Once last year I had a rose with me, and I gave it to her. Her eyes were shining the rest of the night. It's difficult to say goodbye when I know I won't be coming back next fall. I may very well never see any of my friends at the nursing home again - at least in this life. Saying goodbye also makes me think about everything that I could have done; the times that I was bored and wished I was back at school, how I didn't always have patience to listen to their words.

I'm really glad that I kept going to the nursing home. The first semester I went, I thought about stopping after spring break. But the other students who went were encouraging to me, just when I saw them randomly at the dining hall or around campus, so I decided to keep going. Knowing how I was encouraged by my fellow students has been a reminder to me to be encouraging to others. Often I think that I will let people decide for themselves what they will do. Maybe we all need to be a bit more encouraging regarding good things in our lives.