Mortality: a paradox constantly stressed but often neglected. We know our time is of the essence, yet we sometimes forget to act upon it, and end up sometimes breathing instead of living. On average, our species lives seventy-nine years before our parting breath. Us humans go through life constantly waiting on the next step, the next person, the next milestone. Where we go after is subjective, so it’s extremely important that we live everyday as if it was our last. Stories of the residents at Collingswood Manor were a testimony to that.
Today, South Jersey Service came to help the people that live here, both physically and emotionally. We spent the full day with the Collingswood Manor residents who were eager to share their stories with us. First, we cleaned the perimeter and even helped out in the parking lot. We made some Easter cards that we later distributed by knocking on residents’ doors and hand-delivering. Then we had the pleasure of spending time with the lovely people who lived there. We did many things, including manicures, bingo, and an ice cream social.
A few of us also separated ourselves from the group to talk to the residents. We learned of the lives they lead, and of how the world used to work. It also opened our eyes to see just how far we’ve come over the past few decades, not only as people but as a society.
We met a woman named Vera who explained that she lived her life and loved every minute of it. She took us through the story of nursing, love, family, and happiness, how each played a significant role in her life. Her vibrant and carefree personality was inspiring. Along with all of her great qualities, her wit was astounding. She cracked joke after joke and was friendly with everyone, including both of our teachers, but was sad to hear they both had wives.
Vera was a nurse in St. Mary’s Hospital, and everything that came with that came easy to her. “It was simple,” she explained. “I was passionate, and when you’re passionate, you want to work hard.” She worked in the men’s ward, since back when she worked, men and women were separated, and was a scrub nurse, helping bathe the men, and got them their necessities. “This one girl came in as a nurse telling us she wanted to marry a doctor. That was the only reason she was there, you know? I looked at her and said, ‘Get out if that’s why you’re here.'” She had pure drive and determination. As she said, one doctor told her that’s why he hired her. From listening to her stories, it sounds like life as a nurse never had a dull moment.
Not just Vera, but there are many other people living at Collingswood who we had the chance to talk with. To take some time and hear other people’s stories who lived in a different time period is completely astounding. The one thing that every single one of them told us was this: now that they’re old they don’t have the opportunity to do any of those adventurous things anymore. But giving them the chance to relive their stories when they tell them to the younger generation is just as good. One thing I personally can take away from this amazing experience is that time is an important essence in our life. Most people can’t manage to completely grasp it before it runs away from them again, so being able to take some time aside and live life the way you want to will not only give you happiness, but it will melt away the regret of not doing that activity when you’re older and when you have time. It’s up to us on how to live our life: Will we make our life meaningless? Or will we make it as memorable and important as we can, so one day when we’re at a nursing home we can relive our stories over and over again?
Meeting the people at the nursing home and familiarizing ourselves with them was a treat for not just the people living there but for us as well. Spending time with them had to be the highlight of our week; this day was filled with fun, ice cream (how can we go wrong there?), amazing people, as well as thrilling stories that have inspired us. So we have decided to dare you, to either go to a nursing home or your grandparents, and to just sit down with them and talk. Talk about their life when they were younger, and what made — makes — their life meaningful. Spend your time with them, create some new memories, you might end up being surprised on what you’d learn.