“I can no longer support your extra needs”
As I arrived home from school one day in the middle of my junior year, I found my mom crying over news she had to share with me. She then informed me that she wasn’t going to be able to provide for me beyond what I absolutely needed.
A few months prior, I had torn my ACL. With the injury came many medical bills for the physical therapy and arthroscopic surgery I had to undergo. My mom, also permanently disabled from a broken femur and back, had her own medical bills piling up. So, I understood the issue at hand and I immediately started to look for an after school job.
I went to apply at a local retirement home called The Remington Club, and received a call back less than 24 hours later. After a fun interview, I received an offer to be a server in the dining room. Right away I took the offer, and started training a couple weeks later.
After getting in the routine of working six days a week, I got to know the almost 200 residents fairly well. At the turn of two months, I knew every resident’s name who came down for dinner each night. By the time I had to quit to go to college, I could tell you each person’s drink order, and what they would request for dessert.
My boss could tell you that I liked to talk. This probably isn’t the best professional quality you could have, but it is one that I thought got me through my shift every night. Because I love to talk, I got to know more than these resident’s names and their favorite wine. I got the chance to listen to so many life stories; the good, the bad, and the ugly. From fighting for their country in World War II, to being smuggled across the border for a new chance at a future, these residents all had a different outlook on life, but they all had one thing in common: they were so happy at the end of the day, they didn’t mind if that was the last time they saw me. They knew that they lived their lives to the fullest, and if this was the end, they were as happy as ever.
“See you tomorrow, Mr. Smith!” “Hopefully!!”
After saying goodnight to all of the residents each night after dinner, and getting the same response, “Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow!” I changed my own outlook on life. We often get caught up in the big picture, the end result of what we want to grow up and be. I am at fault for this, because I’ve always had a main goal of landing a high-up company position, marrying the love of my life, and raising a family in a huge house. What these residents did for me, is something I can never thank them enough for. The residents at The Remington Club in San Diego taught me to make being happy not just a feeling but a priority. Now when someone asks me what I want to be when I grow up, I respond with “happy.”
Think you could use some extra cash? Apply at a retirement or nursing home. You earn so much more than a paycheck.
