The beginnings

It has been said that a vocation is "where life's greatest needs meet my greatest joy".

As I look back in my life, being of service has always been my vocation.  And working with the elderly (and their families) has always given me this joy.  I don't have to look far to know where that spark came from and where it has been nurtured. 
Three salient parts of my life formed that vocation:
     * We had older parents - my father was 65, when I graduated from high school
     * In high school, I worked in a Nursing Home, as part of a work/study program, and
     * In my mid 40's, after the death of my parents, I returned to Nursing Homes as a Social   
     * Worker and eventually, a Nursing Home Administrator.

And so, for the past eighteen years, I have been  been privileged to be with these elders and their loved ones.  It has never been easy.  It has often been messy.   But messy is good, for it is in that mess that we come face-to-face with life.  Scary, hurting, ugly, painful, alone life.  But in that mess is often a personal "resurrection", where physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually, we experience an awakening to life.

I know from personal experience that in this "mess", is when I most need community.  I need help.  I may not know what, where or when, or I many not even know I need help.  My hope is that my journey can be a resource for those who are in this transition - elder, disabled, friend or family member.