A prayer for employment

As I seek my path in life, I find that prayer, for whatever reason, helps me get through.  Now, this hasn't always been a part of my life, but it is now.  And, I realize that prayer does not work for every one.  And that's ok.  As I am looking for something new and exciting to inspire me in my career path, I found this nice little gem that sums it up.

Quote of the day

"Friendship is one mind in two bodies" - Mencius

 

The Continuing Adventures of Just A Waiter - Losing a resident

One of the down sides to working with the elderly is death.  But, that's a fact that cannot be ignored.  When we experience the death of a loved one in our personal lives, we often seek out and surround ourselves with our friends and family.  When death is experienced in our professional lives, it can be an uneasy situation for many.  Some work environments are not conducive to emotional support when it comes to these times.  But when you work with the elderly, chances are your professional and personal lives start to intertwine. 

At, Verra Spring, where I currently work, we have such an environment.  We each have our own lives outside of work, but while we are at work we are definitely a family.  Yes, we have our arguments and differences like every other family, but we work through them because we are all there for the same goal.  And to our residents, we are family in many ways.  Some of them do not have family nearby.  Some of them do not have family at all.  So, we become that family for them.  And not only for our residents, but for their families too.  Just knowing that we are caring for their loved ones as if they are our own does give a sense of comfort to many of our residents' relatives.

I bring this up because yesterday we learned that one of our former residents passed away over the weekend.  Over the years, she had a series of strokes, which is how she ended up in assisted living in the first place.  She couldn't communicate verbally very well, but each of us made the effort to figure out what she needed and for the most part, we were able to communicate with her.  Gradually the level of skilled care that she needed increased to the point that she was relocated to another facility.  We didn't want to see her go and she didn't want to leave, but every one knew it was the best thing for her.  And for several months, she thrived in her new home.

She had another stroke last Wednesday and went down hill quickly, leaving this life behind on Saturday.  And yesterday, her children came to VS to personally let us know that she was gone.  They took the time to thank us individually for the care we had given their mother.  And these two took great care of their mom as well.  One of them was there every day with her at VS.  But it meant a lot to us for them to come and let us know.  We weren't just family to their mom but to them as well.  And that's what family does in times like this. 

Whether or not I run into them again in this life, we will always be connected by their mom.  And I cherish that.

Just A Waiter :)

Recipe of the week - pumpkin pie

Pumpkin pie is such a classic.  It is obviously associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas, and rightfully so.  I do think, though, that pumpkin pie spice gets a bad reputation every fall because you can't turn around and not see something flavored with it!  Still, we love pumpkin pie in our house and enjoy it throughout the year.  Btw, it's really good cold for breakfast!!  This is an easy recipe so I hope you'll try it and love it like we do!

3/4 cup sugar
15oz can solid packed pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cup half and half
9" deep dish frozen pie crust

Mix all ingredients together and pour into pie crust.

Preheat oven to 425.  Bake pie for 15 minutes.  Then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake another 40-50 minutes until a knife inserted into the pie comes out clean.  Let the pie cool for several hours before serving.  I enjoy serving it with whipped cream, but Michael prefers it plain.  It's great either way!

Softly and Tenderly

Some days I need to cling to the way I was raised.  And, if you were around in those days, you know that church was a big part of that for me.  Now, I know that many people have issue with church and organized religion these days and I totally understand why that is.  In today's climate, those are four letter words.  But, that's not what this post is about. 

The music of church was my haven.  It provided me a way to serve that I knew I could do and was good at.  And, since I was never baptized, I could at least please my Grandmother in some way when it came to church.  But the music was where it was at for me.  And not just at church.  Many times Mom and I sat at the piano playing out of the hymnal.  And when Uncle Bill was visiting, he and Mom would sing hymns for Grandmother and her sisters.  They loved it.  We all enjoyed it and they both had wonderful voices.

Anyway, I find myself turning more and more into the music of my past.  It's comforting for me.  And it's one area of life that I feel I can take from the past and move on into the future.  This is one of my favorite old hymns.  I can't really explain why, it's just a beautiful song.  No matter what is going on with me, this hymn reminds me that I always have a place somewhere in the world...whether I see it or not.

Thought for the day - padding the resume'

Resume

In an effort to figure out the next step in my career path, whatever the hell that may be, I have been looking back over my resume'.  To say that it is lackluster is an understatement.  But, it is what it is and I cannot go back and change my job history.  However, I can spruce it up without lying about it.  Making something sound important can be a game changer.  Having posted my resume' on various websites, the jobs that are suggested for me are all based on my work history.  That makes sense, obviously, but they are not necessarily the jobs that I am looking for or are interested in.  Nothing wrong with them, but been there, done that.  So, I thought that maybe changing the wording of my resume' might result in something more desirable.  Presentation is very important after all!

lawn mower - Environmental Manicurist
driver for Council On Aging - Motorist for the Retired
video rentals - Entertainment Agent
deliver driver - Food Transportation Technician
all around catering bitch - Event Operations Manager
bakery counter sales - Confectionery Marketer
waiter in old folks' home - Culinary Presentation Artist for the Aged

I'm not completely convinced that I will put these things on my resume', but it sure was fun coming up with these titles!  But I would love to see what job suggestions pop up from these LOL

Cheers

The Prayer of St. Francis

I have always found this prayer inspirational.  And, some days, I need both inspiration and prayer!

Quote of the day