Fun Moments at Work #2

Just finished talking to Mom via Skype. Talked to Dad also for a little while, mostly just reminding him to take good care of himself ha ha ha ha...Had fun talking to Mom as usual. She sounds well and not stressed out, so it's good.

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Anyway, as promised, here's a list of some fun/touching moments at work. These days I TRULY appreciate the elderly even more 'coz more often than not (or actually always) they're the ones who take time to talk to me at work. I TRULY appreciate their effort/interest in talking to me.

1. An old lady asked me how I felt about living in a foreign country. I answered, "Because I've lived here for about 3 years now, I feel at home here now."

Upon hearing that, she said, "Well, I just want you to pull through." ---> it's hard to translate it from Finnish, but it's just TOUCHING for me to know that she wants to make sure that I not only "survive" here in this foreign country, but am also able to manage living here and or working here well.

Due to my PMS and the thoughtfulness of this lady, I had wet eyes after she went away...he he he he...

2. An old guy said to me with a smile right after paying, "Arigato. Is that the right way to say it?"

I said, "It's Japanese!"

He, who probably realized that I wasn't Japanese that very moment, asked, "Where do you come from?"

I replied, "Indonesia."

LOL LOL!!! I guess he just assumed I was Japanese based on my looks ha ha ha...

3. One old lady who's ever met me a few times at the store said this while gathering her stuff, "Did you ever work here prior to now?"

I replied, "No."

She said, "Really? You work so fast that I thought you're experienced already."

I smiled and said, "Well, thank you for your compliment." :-D

See? See??? The elderly are REALLY nice people he he he...

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4. While I was scanning some stuff for a couple of elderly, the guy said, "Hey, can I ask what your name is?"

I then pointed to my name tag and said my name, but he said, "Oh, but I can't read it." Obviously the name tag is too small for his eyes to read, so I said my name again.

Then he said, "Nice to meet you! My name is ...." ---> This was the FIRST time a customer had EVER told me his/her name he he he...

I smiled and replied, "Nice to meet you too." We didn't shake hands, though, 'coz I was busy scanning stuff for them.

Then he started babbling about what he did for a living and I listened and replied appropriately he he he he...

Then the also very friendly wife smiled and said, "You're so small. Look at your fingers! Your fingers are even smaller than mine!" (at that point she reached out her hand and hold it next to mine)

I laughed and said, "Yes, that's true."

Then they asked me where I came from and after the wife finished paying and all the goods were packed, the guy kept on standing in front of me and talking about this and that until the wife laughed and grabbed his arm and said, "Come on, let's go. Those are not our stuff. There's already a line of people behind the cashier now. Time for us to go."

The guy seemed a bit surprised and said, "Oh, really? These aren't our stuff?" and he was still talking while his wife dragged him away, laughing at her talkative hubby hi hi hi hi hi hi...

5. Yesterday a couple came by and then the guy said to the wife, "This woman (meaning me) is our neighbour."

I was surprised, so I stated my street name and he told me their house number on that street. Funnily enough, that was the first time a customer had ever said "woman" to me - other times they always refer to me as "girl" and many times I hear them ask me whether I'm studying here he he he...Do I look like a student? HA HA...

6. A UK tourist said to me after he paid, "Thanks so much, darling. Jesus loves you." That was the FIRST time someone has EVER said those words "Jesus loves you" to me after I moved to Finland, and it was quite a touching moment for me and I also had wet eyes after hearing those words. :-D

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Better Caring for the Elderly

When it comes to caring for the elderly, if we choose to care for them ourselves, we have to know what to do to take good care of them, especially if they suffer from some kind of serious illness. For Indonesians, sending elderly parents to nursing homes is considered something bad to do. It's like "getting rid of them" or something.

Personally speaking, I think if you intend on caring for the elderly at home, at least you have to find out as much information as you can get concerning the health condition of the elderly. As Michelle once told me, getting in touch with a specific health support group or forum can help. The above website provides such a forum and plenty of information about caring for the elderly, such as: recognizing the signs of dementia, Parkinson's disease, bed sores, how to prevent stroke, etc.

Since my father-in-law suffers from Alzheimer, I felt so touched when I read a letter sent to the above website by a man whose wife suffers from Alzheimer. If you want to read it, visit the site and click on "care discussion" and "your letters". In short, at first the man took care of the wife at home, but then she fell and broke her arm. Then she couldn't speak and had to use a wheelchair. Since he couldn't take care of everything himself, he decided to send her to a nursing home. However, that only made things worse. In the end he sold his house, moved to a smaller one and he has been taking care of her alone since then.

Anyway, if you feel that you're incapable of taking care of your loved ones by yourself, yet you don't want to send them to a nursing home, hiring a carer is a good option. This is what my parents did when my grandma's condition deteriorated badly. After all, my parents had jobs back then and they still had to take care of us, their kids. All in all, when there are sick elderly in your family, it's better for you to equip yourself with all the necessary information and options so you can choose the best option for your loved ones.