“How about making a sign for my class at The Mansion today,” I said to Jon. “I’ll make the letters and whoever shows up at the class can color them in. It can say Welcome Home for when the rest of the residents can come back to the Mansion.”
It was 3am. I had just come back upstairs to bed from putting logs in the woodstoves and going to the bathroom.
Jon was as awake as I was.
As many of you, who read Jon’s blog, already know, many of the people who live at The Mansion Assisted Living Facility had to leave due to water damage to the building. Some of them went to stay with family and others have moved to the Danforth Adult Care Center until the damage is repaired.
It’s been hard on everyone, their routines and lives uprooted. Julie, the activities director and the Aides go back and forth between the two facilities, trying to bring a sense of normalcy to a situation that is disruptive and disturbing to everyone.
“Why not have it say We Miss You”. Jon suggested, “Then I can bring it to the Danforth.”
I liked that idea, they could hang the sign in the room at the Danforth, where the residents from The Mansion have meals and do activities.
So I brought two signs to The Mansion this afternoon. One with “We Miss You” written on it the other said “Come Home Soon”.
Jon knew there would be few people in the class, so he came with me to see how he could help.
There are only about eight residents currently living at the Mansion, so when Madeline and Wayne showed up I was glad to have them both there.
Madeline wore out a pink marker coloring in the word “Miss”. Wayne watched us all and visited with Red and Ruth came and went, but didn’t want to color the letters.
“This is hard” Jon complained as he colored in the letters. Julie and I looked at him in disbelief, but Madeline said that of course it was hard for him because , “boys don’t color”. It seems Madeline was right, about Jon anyway.
When we were done, we all signed our names on the board and Julie who was going to the Danforth as we were leaving, said she’d bring them over.
Hopefully the signs be a little reminder to the Mansion Residents living at the Danforth, that the Mansion is being repaired and eventually they will be going home.
