After a long cold period of separation and darkness the earth is turning, warming, and the color is returning to life to remind us of all the good things in this world. This spring is full of hope that we can make the world a better place.
One lesson that stands out from last year is that each day is a gift that everyone is not given. It is not much of a leap from seeing each day as a blessing to realize that aging itself is a multitude of gifts and is also a proof of grace and resilience. Working with older people to launch and grow communities and programs is a great way to honor those who are ahead of us on the path of life. They have plenty of lessons to share with us about planning ahead, generosity, and altruism…those extra trips around the sun provide the best education!
The loss we have all felt from not being with those we love is a strong motivation to overcome those distances as we move forward. Whether that’s a continuing care at home program building more connections and opportunities for socialization, communities finding new ways to keep members better connected to those who do not live on campus or making the most of our communal crash course in technology to find new ways to connect us, rather than more ways to keep us apart.
Most of us have also learned some lessons about the balance between autonomy and safety. While there are still those who question whether vaccination is right for them…when the evidence is shared… with the downsides along with the upsides… more are making the choice to help everyone get back together safer and sooner. Organizations that work with older adults have experience navigating the boundaries between autonomy and safety. Those who served on the front lines see the suffering from crossing those boundaries and that experience helps removes some of the grey areas and allows more freedom AND more safety. Those professionals are being celebrated in this time and they should remain high on our list of people to admire and respect.
Most people, programs, and communities did a good job of keeping people connected AND protected…and most of them are doing quite well now that things are settling into this normal. It’s exciting to be a part of the teams launching new communities that are breaking records… 300 families in almost as many months!!! Perhaps even more admirable are the teams who launched during hardest times that are seeing a rush of new people coming in. Many of those older adults share that they would rather be a part of a community than alone if life offers more storms for us to weather.
It is humbling to sit at the table with those who are navigating these lines, and those on the path of life before us. There is a lot of gratitude in being a small part of their stories. It is special to be a part of launching and growing the places and the programs that are listening well and giving customers what they want to make their lives longer, better, and happier too! So, our charge is to spring forward, and venture out into the world again and make something new and better in it!
Looking forward,
Perry