Reflections of a Day in my life at St. John’s Home

I wake up at about 5.30am after a difficult night, but then my nights are always difficult.  I get ready for a shower after which I feel better.  I have a friend waiting in the bathroom.  I call him my Frog Prince.  He is “ugly”, black and shiny.  He has warts all over his body, but yet he is very beautiful.  He hops out when I come in; a real gentleman.  So “ugly”and so beautiful at the same time.  I shower and get ready for breakfast.

After breakfast, I go to the lounge to read the newspapers and catch up on all the latest happenings.  The news is usually not good.  Murder and killing all over the world.  I talk to some people, then rest and get ready for lunch.  I go outside and talk to some more people and watch the cars go by.  Men, women, school children - always in a hurry to get somewhere.

An interesting part of my day is bird watching. It’s so delightful to see the birds come and start to walk around me.  Our birds seldom fly; they walk around, unafraid of us.  We, the elderly, won’t hurt them and they seem to know this.  We are not supposed to feed the birds but don’t tell anyone that some folks do.  A mother bird walks by with her 2 babies chirping loudly for her attention or for food.  Upon observation, I guess it’s for food as the mother bird pecked at something in the grass.  Finally, she flies off with her 2 babies following her.

I go back to the dorm to rest a little, but I am restless.  I pick up a book, but I don’t like what I am reading, so I take another walk.  This time, I sit and wait patiently for the squirrels. Yes, squirrels come to our Home! There is one that I am particularly fond of.  Sometimes he comes alone, but if I am lucky, he brings a friend.  He comes running up and down the big tree.  He is magnificent.  The hairs on his tail are long and bushy and brown.  He has more hair on his tail than some of us have on our heads!  I wonder where he gets his food from and where he sleeps.  Does he have many friends here?  

I have made some friends; some good ones at that.  The grumpy, rude ones I avoid like the plague.  One old lady in my dorm comes over to my bed every morning and says a prayer over me.  She asks Yeso (Jesus in Cantonese) to bless me.  Some share their fruits and cakes with me as I do with my food.

We have dinner at 6:00 pm.  Meal times are usually uneventful apart from the occasional special meals that are catered for us.  Then I shower and watch a little DVD and get ready for bed.  Some days, volunteers come to entertain us and give us little gifts.  I appreciate their efforts but what really makes my day is when I can sit and watch my Frog Prince and the birds and the squirrels and be entertained by their antics.  Those animals have found a refuge here in St. John’s Home for the Elderly and so have I.

Thank you, Jesus.