They made my day!

I’m breathing a long sigh of relief, letting my shoulders find their rightful place in a slightly lower position, and putting my feet up. Sweet exhaustion. Is there such a thing? Apparently there is 🙂

Thursday this week was ‘Eldredagen’ (Elderly Day directly translated) at work. It’s a ‘giving back to the community’ event at my job. I was project manager of the event for the 2nd time. In total there were 400 people attending the event, approximately 300 of these were elderly persons. About 200 were invited from nursing homes, the rest were elderly guests of employees – grandmothers, grandfathers, neighbors, aunts, and uncles etc.

The day includes 3 daytime outings (you choose one), and a festive party for the elderly in the evening. Employees either bring guests, take care of practical things, or spend the day as a volunteer to aid the elderly.

Working 12-14hr days in the final week before Eldredagen is exhausting. The logistics involved with inviting a crowd that includes 28 wheel chairs and almost 50 walkers is… well… interesting. The amount of lists that have to be checked and cross-checked are dizzying.

There are a lot of special circumstances to consider when putting on an event for that many elderly people. Some of these include avoiding candles in case of oxygen tanks, and making sure the food is enjoyable for those with teeth and those without. Another interesting thing is that we live in a town where there is a limited amount of vehicles that can transport wheelchairs. Those available in town were all mobilized by us, and they were shuttling to and from nursing homes for an hour straight to get them all to the event. And then back again of course.

When I got home on Thursday night my body ached from top to toe. I sunk into the couch and thought I’d never get back up again. However – my face told a very different story. I just couldn’t stop smiling. Poor James sat patiently for an hour as I talked and talked and talked and talked about the day! I told him about:

• Seeing the slightly worried faces of the elderly arriving in the morning I just knew they were thinking: “What will this day entail? Am I up for it?” They return from the trip and all I see in their faces are sunny smiles. Every lady or gentlemen I speak to are exuberant about over the fantastic day they’ve had! What a change of expressions! We did it! We put smiles on their faces! I had to walk away so they wouldn’t see me cry.
• The little lady who was leaning on the arm of a man in an orange t-shirt was walking ever so slowly into the foyer of the party venue. She looked around from orange* to orange, blue* to blue, and exclaimed: “Look at them! They’re all smiling! Oh how wonderful you are!”
• The lady who suddenly looked lost in the back of the room and when I inquired said: “I don’t know where I was sitting. This room is so big, I feel so foolish”. I said: “No need to feel foolish, do you know there are over 400 people in here! That’s a lot of people, so it’s easy to get lost. Where are you from?” She told me what nursing home she was from and I guided her back to her seat. Luck would have it that when we got to the area her nursing home was seated at I was walking directly towards her chair. She was AMAZED that I KNEW exactly where SHE was sitting! Of course I didn’t, but she was so incredibly happy that I didn’t bother to explain. What matters is that she was happy, and when I walked away I was smiling from ear to ear.
• Another little lady who had found her way to the dessert buffet was just standing there with shaking hands. She wanted some, but her hands couldn’t carry the plate. I snuck up beside her and took a plate. With her arm in mine we got caramel pudding, chocolate cake, and fruit salad. I walked her back to her seat. She didn’t seem to be able to speak because throughout our encounter she only pointed at things and smiled. The look in her eyes after I had helped her in her seat and put the dessert in front of her said more than a thousand words. Once again I had to walk away so they wouldn’t see me cry.

I have dozens more of these stories, but you get my drift. I have worked like a madwoman, and it has been an honor and a pleasure to be allowed to do it. We went out there to “make their day”, and we did. We set out to put some joy into the lives of others, and WE DID IT! The key word here of course is we. I didn’t do this on my own. Lots of others worked just as hard as I did, and a massive team effort of dedicated, heartfelt, and capable people made this happen.

I feel rich. I feel blessed. I feel honored. I am so thankful to all those beautiful elderly people who made MY DAY!

*the volunteers wore orange t-shirts so the elderly could easily spot the ones that were there to assist them. Those in the administration team or who had practical tasks like being doormen f.ex. had blue t-shirts