Opinion : Growing Old in Vinton

You know the smells in the air when you go to Cedar Rapids? Sometimes its bad, sometimes you smell Captain Crunch. I have the same relationship with old folks homes.

This last Sunday, the girls and I did something that I don't believe we've done for probably 10 years.

We went to a couple of "care center" services with the folks from church.

For as long as I can remember I've visited county homes, the Lutheran Home, and care centers in the town we used to live in.

I remember looooong car rides to go visit my great grandpa in Jefferson at the care center where he lived.

I don't remember much about those visits, other than I never really knew my great grandpa, but my dad would take us along and we would spend an afternoon visiting him until we finally felt comfortable enough to touch his wheelchair. I have a picture of my sister and I standing beside him, we couldn't have been more than 4 or 5. It's one of my favorites.

The one thing I DIDN'T expect when I walked into the Virginia Gay's Nursing and Rehab as well as Windsor Manor's Assisted Living was....the ability to breathe without gagging.

I can remember going to the Lutheran Home, when it was still in the old house near it's present location, and it would smell of old people and I'm not sure what else. It wasn't Vick's, but possibly camphor (?), it never hit me as being nauseating, but strong and just the way old people smelled.

Fast forward to today.

My dad is in a care center in another town. It's hard enough to go and see him like that, but the smell when you walk in the door is nauseating. It's not all people smell, but I believe a cleaning agent smell that makes you suck in as much fresh air as you can before opening the door.

It's awful.

Of course after you are in there a while, it's not as bad, but it's still hard to enjoy breathing.

Throw in the occasional human smells, and food that doesn't smell like a home cooked meal, and either I'm a wimp or the place just is not Valerie friendly.

It's frustrating.

On the one hand I feel like I should go and visit a lot more often, on the other hand just the ability to breath when visiting would be nice.

Yes, we've done the whole mentioning it to the staff, thought of moving him, but for various reasons, nothing can be changed right now.

So I was pleasantly surprised when we walked first into Virginia Gay's Nursing and Rehab and I paused, it didn't stink! I went further into the building still subconsciously sniffing...nothing. Nothing??? Nothing!

I could breathe! I didn't smell lunch, or the weird smell that was called lunch at most places. I didn't smell the scent of incontinence. It smelled...like any other place!

It's funny how the mind works, or at least the way mine works.

I was playing the piano along to the Christmas carols and the whole time I'm thinking, "Now, maybe, we can figure out a way to move my dad here. I can actually breathe. It looks nice here. It doesn't stink...."

Next song.

"What do they do different? Why can't the place my dad is smell this good? Man should hook the two up so they can learn something from Virginia Gay."

Next song.

"Wow it looks really nice in here, there's a nice area set up to visit, with comfortable chairs, and carpeting, that's nice!"

Then we ran to the car and headed off to Windsor Manor which is a different ball game.

That is more of an assisted living place where folks have their own apartments within the building and seem to be more mobile. But still, after 45 years I've been trained to expect the smells.

I walked in and did the sniff.

What???? It smelled like, it is, it smelled like cinnamon and something else pleasant. I just stood there and smelled the air.

Then I looked around.

What a beautiful place! We had a few minutes to look around before our service started. We checked out the birds, the scene from the window, and I noticed the staff had placed a Christmas tree in the gazebo outside the window.

The colors in the building and the furniture were warm and inviting. Definitely NOT what I had been expecting for an "old folks home"

A few weeks ago I was asked to go to the Lutheran Home to order a cook book, and honest, I dreaded it. I drove up, got out, grabbed my breath of fresh air, ran in, and stopped, I could breathe there too!

What is going on???

3 homes in town for older folks, and I can breathe in ALL of them without gagging? These folks obviously haven't gotten the memo that it's supposed to stink when you walk in the door!

So the purpose for this rambling on and on? I don't know. Maybe it's just simply to say, "THANK YOU, folks who are in charge of these places!"

Thanks for caring enough to make it pleasant for our folks that live there as well as those of us who come to visit!

Thanks for making these places homey for our parents and grandparents.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And lastly, from those of us wimps, thanks for the fresh air to breathe!