Last night we went to Prestonwood Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. Some of the residents live there full time and then some just come for a while to under go rehab for medical reasons. We know that this can be a tough time of year for the elderly... no one wants to leave their home and family whether it be for a short period of time or permanently. So... we wanted to bring cheer to them this Christmas Season by throwing them a Christmas party! Susan is the Liaison there and she really helped us in getting this together. Thanks so much Susan, Tina and the rest of the team for all you did that night, and all that you do every day for those precious folks!
This project was especially near and dear to our hearts. The loneliness that can overtake the elderly is something that just burdens your heart. Some of them have lost everyone and the pain they go through is heartbreaking when they tell you that they are the only one out of all their siblings and friends left alive. So we really tried for several days to think of something that they would really enjoy. We wanted them to have a great time and laugh! Laughter is so good for us.
So back to the Christmas party. We had cake and punch, then Joshua and Tammy performed a dance for them. It was great and they seemed to really like it. Then we got as many as we could up to dance with us. Most of them where in wheelchairs but that didn't matter...we danced with them anyway! Then we played musical Christmas Gift. We put all of their wheelchairs and chairs in a circle and then passed out gifts to everyone. When the music came on, everyone had to pass their gift to the left until the music stopped. Then Christopher had every third person open their gift. They thought they would keep that gift...but no...the music came back on and they had to continue passing the gifts to the left. This time when the music stopped everyone opened their gift. Now it got really funny because one gift was a dog bone. A sweet man named Cecil that I danced with got it first. He was such a good sport and laughingly he told everyone that he did not have a dog! Then Christopher started asking if anyone wanted to trade. This is when it really got fun. The bone made its way around the room ...but did I mention you could only trade once. Finally when the bone came to it's final resting place, we surprised the recipient with 4 awesome gifts! The big frown on her face turned into a great big smile!
I think the best gift we gave that night was our love and our time. We went out and spent time with them and hopefully a little joy was spread. I know it was on our end... I know that for the whole team, this was one of our favorite days!!!
God Bless
Theresa
So back to the Christmas party. We had cake and punch, then Joshua and Tammy performed a dance for them. It was great and they seemed to really like it. Then we got as many as we could up to dance with us. Most of them where in wheelchairs but that didn't matter...we danced with them anyway! Then we played musical Christmas Gift. We put all of their wheelchairs and chairs in a circle and then passed out gifts to everyone. When the music came on, everyone had to pass their gift to the left until the music stopped. Then Christopher had every third person open their gift. They thought they would keep that gift...but no...the music came back on and they had to continue passing the gifts to the left. This time when the music stopped everyone opened their gift. Now it got really funny because one gift was a dog bone. A sweet man named Cecil that I danced with got it first. He was such a good sport and laughingly he told everyone that he did not have a dog! Then Christopher started asking if anyone wanted to trade. This is when it really got fun. The bone made its way around the room ...but did I mention you could only trade once. Finally when the bone came to it's final resting place, we surprised the recipient with 4 awesome gifts! The big frown on her face turned into a great big smile!
I think the best gift we gave that night was our love and our time. We went out and spent time with them and hopefully a little joy was spread. I know it was on our end... I know that for the whole team, this was one of our favorite days!!!
God Bless
Theresa
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