Saying Good-bye

We may be seeing more moisture
in early spring than the last month
of winter. 3/31/22 (dwm)

  Later this year I'll reach my 10th anniversary working at Oakwood.  It's been a wonderful journey.

  Because my job focuses on our residents and donors, much of my time is spent getting to know the older adults who choose to make Oakwood Village their home.  It's a joy, privilege, and honor.

  I've been blessed to hear first-person accounts of being raised on a farm, being the first one in the family to attend college, how they met their partner, and their life before retirement and deciding to move to our campus.

 Many stories would make an interesting movie.  I've known people who made their way to the United States; heard stories of how the person in front of me escaped the horrors of the holocaust; listened to accounts from war; and amazed by stories from pioneering women who were the only female in a particular class or workplace - then fired because they had children.

There is a lot of wisdom at Oakwood.  I'm blessed to hear stories of perseverance and overcoming the odds.

The joy is the journey.  The sorrow is losing one of these wise souls, one of those I know well, especially when the relationships became more than a working partnership into a friendship.

A resident died recently who I first met two months after taking the job in the Oakwood Foundation.  This individual made a significant gift for a project for which we were raising funds.  It was exciting for me because it was exciting for them.  We met every few months.  I learned about the resident's life, friends, and other charities that were important to them.  It was a privilege to be a small part of her life.  Our final face to face visit was last fall before she needed more extensive care.

It was an honor to be asked by her niece to speak about their generosity.  

While I wrote this post yesterday, I learned another donor with whom I'm close passed away Friday.  She was under hospice care over the last month.  I'm thankful I was able to visit with her the first two weeks.  She was the first donor I met on the Prairie Ridge campus - and a person I met with often - she was a kind, generous, and humble soul.

It's the definition of life joy and sorrow mingled together.