Oh, Valentine, Oh Valentine – How Art Thou Valentine? Today we decided to take a different twist on the Valentine Day’s tradition. Along with spreading love within our small family unit of 3, we decided to spread our love to people who may otherwise not hear “I Love You” today. The plan was to go to a nursing home in our local community.
When I was a child, my sister and I use to go almost every Sunday to a local nursing home to bring residents to church, so, needless to say, I have a soft spot for the elderly. As we volunteered, we’d notice many of the residents have limited to no visitors who would come visit them, so, it just made sense to select a nursing home for our “I Love You” spread the love day. We selected the Elms Haven Nursing Home, which is located nearby, and focuses on both senior living and rehabilitation.
Prior to going to the nursing home- Ryley had a great idea to make home-made Valentine’s Day cards for the residents. Being the little artiste that she is, Ryley chose to use both finger paints and markers for the cards, which she said gave her artistic inspiration (lol). For every card, Ryley named each picture and wrote Happy Valentine’s Day along with signing her name. After completing her masterpieces, we drove to the Nursing Home and found out we had perfect timing. (Although, I believe it was God’s perfect timing not ours!) Originally, we weren’t sure if we would see the residents or if we’d solely be able to drop the cards off at the front desk. When we arrived, however, we saw the residents were having their dinner, so, the nice woman at the front desk said – “Go Ahead and go into the dining hall and pass out your cards.” She said, “The residents will love it.” At first, we saw a new side of Ryley because she became very shy, but when the residents started asking Ryley questions about her age, where she goes to school, her favorite color, what are her favorite things to do– she no longer hid behind me and became our little chatterbox. Several of the residents got a kick out of her excitement and giggles. Also, Ryley is definitely cute and funny when she wants to be, so, it was no surprise to me they liked visiting with Ryley more than they did me. Before going, Ryley had lots of hugs, lots of people telling her to do good in school, and one woman telling us we made her day. So in the end, it was all worth it! We fulfilled our mission of spreading love this Valentine’s Day and we also brought back good memories of when my sister and I use to visit our local nursing home with our giggles, hugs, and excitement.
