Part 4 Division Essay

overboard. We toured three galleries on the island, shopping in 2 gift shops which they bought out practically, and on the way back we had a cruise on the bay. We safely loaded our bus at 6p.m. and I took attendance and many were quite tired from all the activity and many slept on the bus on the way home. Those awake showed me the treasures they had purchased. We arrived at village at 9p.m at night which is the latest many had been out in years and we had supper on the way home at a restaurant in Trenton so everyone was tired, and full not only of the second helping of restaurant food but also of life. The next 3 island trips had so residents 102 people signed up to go that we rented a Cyr bus to accommodate all those going and my attendance taking became more vigorous but the joy they got out of these trips far outweighed the courage I put forth to take them on these safaris as they termed them. Campobello was a huge hit visiting Roosevelt’s’ Cottage as many had fond memories of his administration and they exchanged many ideas and I have the most amazing scrapbook of the Islands of Maine Trips and when I feel like I lack courage I need only to look at those aging smiles and I feel invincible and that no problem is insurmountable. I believe the success of the trip was my ability to acknowledge geriatric limitations but my creative way to adapt the trip to fit their needs and most of all the courage to believe they could experience more.
The final element that made me excel in my position was absolute love. I absolutely loved my job. I stayed many nights late in the night decorating, planning, conjuring and preparing but never once did it feel like work. I loved the people and I admired how they dealt with adversity as they faced the not always fun physical and mental aspects of aging. I had many residents who had outlived all their children and yet they showed up every day and lived life to the fullest. I shared their lives and for that I was the lucky one. In the winter of 2007 it was a tough winter in the village as many of our residents had been sick with flu and hospitalized and a few had passed on and everyone was feeling in a slump so I came up with the idea of a ball. As usual I pitched it at residents meeting and I was used to the looks or horror by now. We had one a dance floor from the corporation which is Holiday Retirement for the most minutes of exercise in a facility earlier in the fall and I was determined to use it. It snapped together over the rug like a giant geometric puzzle and could be any shape and had a safe edging to step up onto for safety. I explained we had the foyer which was huge and perfect for a ball. It went all the way to roof with a 2nd and 3rd floor balcony where I put all kinds of stuffed chairs and couches around when I had musical guests like my string quartet so they could watch from above if they didn’t want to come downstairs and they called them the expensive opera seats. The foyer had an immense chandelier secured from the sweeping ceiling between the skylights. As I explained my vision of twinkle lights all over ceiling strung from 2nd story balcony side to side like a spider web could be formed as the foyer was a giant octagon shape. We formed a decorating committee and they were hooked. We picked February 2nd and the planning became my greatest labor of love. They chose to call it Cinderella’s Ball since I was Cindy and my ladies went about digging out old cruise clothes for gowns, shopping Bangor for gowns, and one gal even ordered from the internet. We covered the walls with giant unrolled scenes 10 feet high of Cinderella’s palace with posts, pictures of her and the prince we had ordered from a prom theme magazine. I built a life size pumpkin coach for the residents to have their prom pictures taken in the night of the ball. I had a local band Brian Catrell who plays 30’s and 40’s music booked. I solicited local beauticians to come into our beauty shop and do manicures, up do’s and makeup the day of the ball. We had a local tux dealer come in two weeks in advance to measure my gents who wanted tuxes so