The Trenches is Where the Magic Happens

“Did you see Dale’s post?” Susan, co-owner of the two health and rehab communities where I work as a Creative Enrichment Specialist asked after a recent gathering with our residents.

“No,” I replied.

She then handed me her iPhone so I could read his FB post. My eyes welled with tears, and as I read it out loud to my husband the next day, the tears flowed freely as I recalled working alongside my dear friend Dale back in 2006-2008. He showed up unexpectedly for a “Kareen’s Kettle” at Wellsville Health and Rehab and sat as a guest in my circle of residents who were there to enjoy a virtual visit to Scotland where my daughter Rachel and her husband recently celebrated their 10th anniversary.

My daughter Rachel and Aaron’s photo shoot at Quiraing in the beautiful Isle of Skye in Scotland

It’s a rare privilege to have someone attend one of my gatherings and write about it. So, enjoy the following snippet of my work. May you be inspired to BE the energy, the love, and the creative force to those around you, in whatever space you may find yourselves.

“I had a true blessing yesterday. My former boss picked me up in Lawrence and drove me to Wellsville for a program directed by Kareen King. Kareen had a quiet joy, a detailed understanding of the needs and wants of her audience and a true love of sharing the beauty of Scotland with the WRC residents. She made sure residents with hearing problems and visual problems were close and she had her doll Emilou (made after a much-loved resident) blow kisses to everyone in the room. CEO Scott Averill went outside behind the shades and imitated the Loch Ness Monster. Everyone was smiling, Kareen empowered the staff to be happy, free, and unhinged, to let the beauty of the elders be demonstrated to each and every one. I have worked for many years with Kareen. I used to dress in black and sing Johnny Cash songs with her. It was amazing to see a miraculous woman who deeply enriched my life so engaged. For a bit, she confessed she was a little saddened that she was no longer doing concerts or presentations, but I told her in the trenches of care one seizes the highest reward. Thanks for an out-of-the-world experience. And because it was Carl Jung's birthday yesterday, here is a quote from Naomi Feil’s "Validation" for my quote-loving friend: "The cat ignored becomes the tiger." Much love to you Kareen and those whose lives you touch so mightily.” - Dale B.

The Beauty of Remembering

Remembering a Lovely Moment with my Granddaughter - Photo by Kareen King

I recently attended a training workshop for Kansas Teaching Artists, Arts and Senior Service Organizations as part of the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission’s “Kansas Creative Aging Project”. During a storytelling activity, we were asked to make statements that began with “I remember.” I loved the creative potential included in this reminiscence activity and decided to incorporate it in my most recent weekly creative engagement program known to the residents I serve as “Kareen’s Kettle.”

The topic of the recent program was Amelia Earhart in light of her July 24th birthday. In preparation, I pored through Amelia’s biographical information and constructed some “I remember” statements from her childhood experiences including:

• I remember climbing trees.

• I remember hunting rats with a .22 rifle.

• I remember “belly-slamming” my sled downhill.

• I remember collecting worms, katydids and tree toads.

• I remember making a homemade roller coaster by attaching a ramp to a family tool shed.

• I remember seeing an aircraft for the first time at the age of ten at the Iowa State Fair.

• I remember my sister and I wearing bloomers when others girls didn’t.

• I remember spending countless hours reading books in my large family library.

• I remember being broken-hearted after watching my childhood home and all of its contents being auctioned off.

• I remember keeping a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about successful women.

I recited the statements, hoping to jog a few memories, and then invited the participants to come up with snapshots from their own lives. I was pleased with their answers which are as follows:

I remember . . .

• Climbing a tree.

• Learning how to roller skate.

• The statement, “The war is over!”

• Trying to keep my sisters from fighting, and then all three of us getting into trouble.

• Sitting by the radio listening to fireside chats with Roosevelt and hearing him say, “This day will go down in infamy.”

• Getting upset when my brothers would run off after I hid during a game of hide-and-seek.

• Mom’s angel food cake.

• My parents kissing before they went to work.

• My disbelief in hearing my brother say, “Marilyn Monroe was at our store today,” only to discover it was true, and that he added, “She used our bathroom and we were gonna lock the door!”

• The 4-H fairs.

• Living in South Dakota.

• A tornado striking my parents’ farm.

• The 1966 tornado and the 1951 flood.

• Running around.

• School days.

• Going uptown to see the movies.

• My wedding day – it snowed.

• Sliding down steep hills.

• Playing lots of softball.

• Climbing mulberry trees and eating the mulberries.

• Taking my father up a steep hill on a bicycle, and he was a big man!

• Nothing.

The crowning moment during one of the gatherings occurred when we heard an enthusiastic declaration from a woman who chose to sit in the back, outside our circle: “Getting drunk! I was slipping drinks, and this man’s drink was loaded!”

I recently learned that the memories that stick with us the longest are those that are attached to strong emotions. This was evidenced in particular by one woman’s tears at the end of one of my programs while I sang our usual closing song, “Happy Trails.” When I was finished, I reminded everyone that we needed to get up and go so that we could have enough time to set up the dining room for lunch.

“What if we don’t want to go?” the teary-eyed woman replied.

And that’s when you know what you’re doing is making a difference.