Yesterday I spent an hour and a half with my mentor and the AL residents. We were only able to squeeze in a game of balloon volleyball and food healing talks with them in that short hour and a half since the residents were going out to eat at Nick's that afternoon.

The first 45 minutes consisted of beach volleyball. The AL residents were all circled up and I stood in the middle continuously serving back the balloon to them. It was funny how the women would crack up every time they hit the balloon very hard. Including so, Joe Warren was there with me playing balloon volleyball with them. It still surprises me how a simple activity like this can pump them up.

After balloon volleyball, I shadowed my mentor in food healing talks. We had an insightful conversation about fruits that heal the soul and body. The residents were so funny during this conversation. I could tell they were digging memories up from the past each time we mentioned a different fruit. Some would say, "That fruit is sweet!" or "I LOVE that fruit. I used to eat it all the time!" Cherries, tangerines, avocados, tomatoes, peaches... you name it! A woman named Mary recalled having an apple tree in her backyard. She began a sentence with, "I hope those... those..." and then blanked out. I figured she wanted to say that she hoped squirrels wouldn't eat her apples. Mary then said, "Those things with the furry tails." I wasn't completely sure if she blanked out because of old age or because of her dementia.

Following food healing, I helped some residents get to the dining room for lunch, and some onto the bus for their afternoon outing.

I'm hoping that for my next visit, I can have another great conversation with the AL residents.