unplanned amy

this morning i had an appointment that i was not looking forward to. as an assignment for school, i had to tour a local retirement home's wellness facility. i was not excited about this for two main reasons, first is the awkward fear i have of going to places and speaking with people i don't know. the second reason is that old folk's homes tend to make me feel very sad inside because they are usually thought of as a place where you go to die. while death itself is not that troubling, sitting around waiting for it to happen does not seem like a good time to me.

thankfully, one of my fellow students went with me, so at least i had a security blanket of sorts. it also helped that she is pretty sociable, and did 99% of the talking when our guide asked us anything. i am happy to say that my second issue turned out to be a non-issue where this particular facility is concerned. upon our arrival (after dodging 6 or 7 speedy golf carts driven by some "in a hurry to get somewhere" residents), we were ushered into a state of the art, four million dollar aquatics and wellness center-which was built entirely on donated money. !! nice job, community!

the pool area is really nice and is used, not only by residents and staff, but by a local school district as well. there is a heated therapy pool with a deep area for exercising, and a shallow sitting area. residents are encouraged to use the therapy pool before or after physical, occupational, and massage therapies. the large pool is not laid out in the typical deep end/shallow end configuration. there is a typical deeper area for swimming laps in lanes, there is also a shallow lane for those who are uncomfortable in the deeper water, but still want to walk and be able to get the benefits of exercising in the water. there is also a system of railing for them to hold on to for balance. off to one side, but connected to the large pool is a smaller, deep water pool for diving and exercise. the locker room area is not typical of what you would find in a "regular" aquatics center, or in a "normal" senior center, either. it is a community locker room. one large room full of lockers and a few benches, with large closed bathrooms that include showers all around the perimeter. this allows the residents to have more independence as they decline in function. they can have a loved one help them, or a staffer, or if they have their grandchildren visiting, they can herd them all into one of the bathroom areas with no problems.

there is an awesome "exercise studio" where they have tai chi, yoga, zumba, and other classes for residents and community members. the cardio/weight room was just awesome. it's full of great equipment that is easy for seniors to use..there is a really interesting machine that simulates different situations in which your balance would be thrown off, and helps them to maintain their physical ability to stay up...or at least get back up if they fall. there are no weights on the strength machines, they are all powered by air pressure, so the residents can be independent and not have to ask someone to pick up that 10 pound weight for them.

down the hallway is a salon, a spa, a billiards room, an internet cafe, a business office, library, three restaurants, banquet rooms, a computer lab,an art studio, and an entire hallway with classrooms where they teach continuing education classes like algebra, botany, creative writing, and philosophy.

can you tell i was very impressed? this is not a place where seniors are going to die. it is a place they are going to live-more richly than most younger people are living! this facility is truly offering opportunities to maintain wellness in all aspects-physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, environmental...it was really reassuring to me to learn that this place exsists..and is a humming hive of activity and vitality.

anyway, i guess my commercial for the brethren home is over now. heehee.

it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, so han and i decided to go in search of the sunflower fields over close to baltimore. we had no luck with that, so we went over to the rail trail and headed out for another library challenge hike. this one was 3.5miles. i had my doubts as to whether hannah would make it..she tends to start whining around the 2 mile mark when we're not biking. i think she made it to about the half mile point and was dying of heat exhaustion (it was 81F)-"MOM! i'm SWEATING!!" gasp! no! say it's not so!!! miraculously, at about the same time, we entered a wooded area of the trail and she decided that she would survive, after all. so we walked to maryland to find france. heheh. the whole time, we were hearing thunder rumbling in the distance, and i was praying that the storm would hold out until we got back to the car...it did, thankfully, because when it let loose, it wasn't joking.

this is what makes me smile:

SUNFLOWERS!