I work as a volunteer at a local retirement facility.
I work with the residents on craft projects, help with social events, and even spend time visiting or just reading to them.
It is very rewarding on many levels but one of my favorite things to do is just listen. They love sharing their stories from the past and I find much of what they have to say fascinating. The life I have grown up in has been completely controlled by one form of electronic device or another. The world is at our fingertips, thanks to the internet, and we carry a phone that is basically a small computer. We can control our world remotely through websites and apps. Not only is this technology foreing to many of the residence, the items we control are too. Many of them grew up without things like computers, security systems, HVAC systems and even cars. I can’t imagine my life without any of these things. Most notably, my HVAC system. I depend on it to keep me comfortable and my home healthy year round. I have it completely controlled by my Smart Thermostat and I can log on at any moment from wherever I am to adjust it or ensure that it is running properly. When I listen to a resident telling me about the hard labor they had to do to keep their homes warm in the winter and how excited they were when the first electric furnaces came on the market I am simply astounded. I am certainly glad that we don’t have to go to those lengths any longer.