Location: Wesley Place
Date: Thursday, August 01, 2013; 7:00-8:00 pm
I had been away and so it seemed
like I had not volunteered with Chicago Cares in ages. I had enjoyed ‘Game Night’ projects at Pomeroy and so had no hesitation in
signing up for this one. It was a
relatively new program and hence Chicago Cares had been unable to find a
regular leader for it. Thus upon
arrival, I found Amy from Chicago Cares there along with 3 other volunteers. The first thing that impressed me was the
facility itself. I looked quite classy and I mentioned that to Amy. She said that unlike Pomeroy, the residents
over here were more elderly and needed help during the game. More than anything, they wanted the
company. Well, that’s what we were here
for.
We went upstairs and I saw
several residents assembled around some tables in the activity room, which
itself was quite bright and welcoming.
Amy asked us to select games from a box and I took ‘Uno’ cards, which was the only game that I
knew how to play. I went over to a lady
who said that she couldn't play because she wasn’t strong enough. Typically I would not have been averse to
staying with her to chat for the duration of the evening, but she seemed distracted
and it would have been difficult to engage her.
So I took my deck of cards and went over to another table, this one
having 4 ladies, and asked if they wanted to play with me. One of them refused for the same reason as
the earlier one, but two others said yes and the third said she wanted to
learn. I was in business!
 |
| Uno again |
The lady who wanted to learn was
named Fran and as I taught her how to play, she turned out to be a good
student. I asked where she was from and
she said Detroit, though has been here for a long time and likes it. Soon we were ready to go and I dealt for 4
people. But it was apparent that
one of the ladies next to me required help in even holding up the cards, and so
I requested one of the other volunteers to come over and help her out. Back at Pomeroy when I had played ‘Uno’, it had been a full-fledged
competitive game with folks enforcing the rules diligently. Over here it was quite the opposite. In fact, we could see each other’s cards and
it was more about getting the residents involved.
The lady who was being helped by the other volunteer was called Maggie and
she was quite jovial. She said that
while she understood the colors on the cards, she needed some help with the
numbers. I asked what her favorite color
was and she said “Green”. I said that it was mine as well, though I like
all colors. She then said she also liked Red, it being her favorite winter color, with Green being her summer color. Now, I had never heard of anyone specifying
favorite colors by seasons, though it made some sense to me. I asked about Spring and she said “Yellow”, leaving Blue for Fall I guess!
Besides Fran and Maggie, the third
lady who was playing was Georgia and of everyone, she was the one into the
game and concentrating hard. I was
coming close to winning and was thinking that I may soon have to start cheating
so as not to, but fortunately Fran won.
She was ecstatic, especially since she had just learnt the game, and was
now totally interested. The following
round Georgia won, leaving Maggie as the only non-winner at the table. I looked at the bracelets Maggie was wearing
and told her that those were nice. She
said that she had won them in Bingo and that she was quite an accomplished
player. Now, Bingo is not a game of
skill, but one thing I have learned after spending time with seniors is that
being an accomplished player means being more attentive than others. Considering her competition in this room, it
would not have been too difficult, though I hope they have volunteers who help
out. Maggie told me that every Thursday a
van comes to pick them up and take everyone to downtown. It is a nice way for all of them to get out
of the nursing home and see the outdoors.
I asked if she liked seeing the lake and she replied that it was the
buildings that she enjoyed more. I liked
Maggie and made it my mission to help her out.
Through some careful manipulation of my cards and colors, I was able to
get her a win and she loved that. Now,
everyone on the table could have the bragging rights!
Over on the next table a cards
game was in progress and one of the volunteers said that if this was poker, she
would have a “Full House”. I said if they were playing poker, all of us –
Fran, Maggie and Georgia – would be at the next table. We were enjoying ourselves, but now there was
time for just one additional game, which Maggie won again. I said that it had been a brilliant comeback
and was time for us to leave. It had
been an hour, which I felt was a short time, but it meant a lot to them. Fran, Maggie and Georgia thanked us and Maggie added, “Thank you for spending an evening
with us”. With those words ringing in my ears I left with tears in my eyes. There’s nothing more to
for me to say…really.
*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy
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