Positive Attitude

Guess what? The slippers that I got for Fred, Yesterday, were too small ! I should have learnt by now and taken one of his old ones with me to the shop in town. I will change them today.

Fred lives in the nursing home next door and I have seen how wonderfully the staff look after the residents. My mother died, aged 97, three years ago and I saw a little of the positive attitude caregivers brought to their relationship with her. Now, with almost daily contact, I am seeing a lot of it and the effort that staff take to be positive. It is something that I am learning to develop.

Kate (in the photo) helps Fred to get dressed and move around. I am studying her attitude as much as her methods in helping those who are restricted.

Fred is our least active community member and so is the most appreciative of help. So it is relatively simple being positive with him. The others, though retired or semi-retired, have the interests of very active independent men. Intelligent debate and helping out in practical ways are important aspects of their lives. But they can't always do the things that they want to do because of their age and that can be frustrating. So to help them be mentally agile and physically active, I have to integrate this positive attitude with some other life-skills. The last thing they want or need is a Pollyanna.