October - December, 2008

Pen Pals

At Austin's school, they have this really awesome program called "Pen Pals" - it's similar to "Adopt a Grandparent". First, the kids are assigned a Pen Pal - Austin's Pen Pal is Dale. :) Throughout the month, Austin writes letters and makes crafts and pictures for Dale. Then comes the day when the kids get to go and visit their Pen Pals!

October - The first month! I volunteered to go and rode the bus with Austin to Valley 4000. I must say, I am very impressed with the whole facility! They have different sections - an independent living area, an assisted living area, and a nursing home area. Dale is in the nursing home area.

*NOTE* - I am blocking out Dale's face, due to rules and regulations and the rights of the residents. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to show them, so I thought I'd be safe and just black-out their eyes.

When we first arrived, we were given a grand tour. There is a beauty salon, a workout gym/PT area, a number of dining facilities and even some birds and a few dogs!

After the tour, Austin anxiously awaited the arrival of Dale - his first meeting! It was so cute! I'm glad I was there to help prompt some questions in the beginning, but after Austin and Dale got started, they had so much to talk about! Dale is a very soft spoken man, so Austin had to listen very carefully to what he was saying.

The 3rd graders sang songs to the residents and handed out the crafts they made. Dale liked Austin's pictures and gave him a big hug! Too soon it was time to go back on the bus ... ah, the bus! Austin sat with his good friend, Cody, and they listened to Austin's MP3 player and had a good time jammin' out!

November - Austin was unable to make it to the Pen Pal visit in November. He had a fever (it was that stinking fifth's disease) and I told him that he couldn't go to school much less go to visit Dale - Austin understood that Dale would get sick if he went and I told him that we would stop by Valley 4000 after church on Sunday to visit him (barring any fever or illness).

We did stop by after church; however, Dale was sleeping and he looked so peaceful that we didn't have the heart to wake him up. He was watching golf, so we knew he'd be out for the rest of the afternoon. (muah ha ha ha) We did leave him a note, though. :)

December - This month, the residents of Valley 4000 had a program for the children! They had a choir that sang songs for the kiddos and even had their pictures taken especially for them! Austin was so proud of his picture of Dale - he had to show everyone in his class how awesome it was!

Austin decided to give Dale a Christmas present ... he ended up giving him a very soft pillow (and when I say soft, I mean soft!) He thought that he could sit in his bed with the pillow behind his back, or maybe just take a nap on it. When Dale opened it up, he was surprised and happy to see it! He commented on how soft it was (nice choice, Austin!). The other gift Austin gave Dale was a picture of the two of them I took in October - their first meeting. Good ole Dale, he got really emotional when he unwrapped it. It was rather touching, watching him look at the picture of him and Austin! (sniff sniff)

A 5th grade class was there, too, and they (along with Austin's class) sang some Christmas songs for the residents. Austin kept watching to see if Dale was watching him and ... he sure was! He even sang along! :)

After a snack of some really yummy cookies and punch, we again gave big hugs to Dale with promises to visit this week - we will make sure we don't go around nap time! :)

I just want to conclude with my two cent opinion - I think it's great that Austin's class is so involved with our community and especially the elderly in the area. I know that some of those residents don't get visitors very often, and they really look forward to the kids every month. Austin wants to continue his relationship with Dale over the summer and into next year, and it makes me so proud (but not in a prideful way) that he is so committed to Dale and the visits to Valley 4000. :)