I did not sleep particularly well last night. My body was very tired but I could not seem to shut my brain off. There were lots of thoughts spinning around in my head. It became a whirlwind of emotion every time I closed my eyes. My mind was bringing up so many pictures of the past. And, with that, comes so many different feelings. I got up and turned my radio on to listen to some relaxing music, hoping that would help me. Eventually I did close my eyes and fall asleep, even thought I do not exactly remember.
Why couldn't I shut my brain down? It is because yesterday, at work, I started on a new project. I am always starting something new it seems. Many times I take on things myself because it keeps me busy. Most days, I do not like just sitting at my desk. I want something to do. Otherwise, I feel that I am wasting my time and the company's money. Now, that's not all the time. Sometimes I do relish just sitting for awhile. We all need days like that!
Anyway, we had a resident move out at the end of last week to be closer to her children. There were other factors involved in the move, but those are not for me to disclose. Let's just say that this was the best possible thing for our resident. Well, the family came and packed up things and got her moved. Yesterday, I went to check on the apartment to see if it was ready for environmental services to come in and start working on it. When I opened the door, it looked like she was still living there. I had to go back downstairs and double check with Melissa that she was officially out. I actually had to check several times with her because in my head I could just not believe that all of this stuff was left behind. It looked like they took 2 pieces of furniture and some clothes. That was about it.
There was lots of furniture left. I opened up cabinets and drawers and most were full. There were bags of "trash" all over the place as well. It almost looked as if someone just packed a bag and left during the night. Of course, that was not the case, but that's still what it looked like! I opened up a drawer that was full of pictures. Family pictures. That's when I made my decision.
I decided that I was going to get this mess cleaned up. It was obvious that the family friends who packed up things left too many behind as far as cherished family momentos. Now, I do realize that not everyone is as sentimental about these things as I am. But I truly care about my residents and have no desire to see their histories end up in the trash. We had a resident who passed away several years ago and two family members came in and threw everything out. She was a published author and kept records of everything. I was working in dining services at the time and when I went to take out some trash one day, the dumpster was full...and I mean full...of her papers and family pictures. Just from peeking inside the dumpster, I could see hundreds of photographs....wedding pictures, family vacations, etc. I picked up several and they were all labeled and dated....and in the TRASH!! That just broke my heart.
And I was determined not to let that happen again. So, started going through all of the drawers and cabinets and pulling out pictures and things like that to return to the family. I'm not sure if the son of this resident knows that these pictures are here as they were in a rush to move. And, just so that everyone knows, I have full permission from the family and Melissa to be in there. They have confirmed that they got "everything" they were taking and have given up financial occupation of the apartment. So, if they want to throw away all of these wonderful pictures, I will let them do it. I will box it up and hand it over. From there, it is their responsibility. I just cannot personally do that, it makes me so sad to think of it.
It brought up a lot of feelings for me that I will discuss later in other posts. But, as for today, I will go in and clean up more trash, get things organized and give this resident's life the dignity it deserves. There are so many things that we will donate because they are in great shape. As for the family pictures, what happens to them will be up to the family. I will have done all I could to satisfy my own conscience. I care. And having peace of mind that I at least tried will help me to continue to care for my residents.
That is all.
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