11/18/2025
***Very long post but I think it’s worth the read 💙***
I always love my job but some days are just special. For those of you who don’t know, in addition to teaching children and adults with special needs I also teach chair and rehabilitation yoga to seniors and the elderly.
One of my frequent stops is at Gladeview Rehabilitation and Health Care Center- a rehabilitation facility in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. For some, their stay is temporary due to minor injuries or health set backs and they will return home. For others, Gladeview is a permanent stay where they are able to receive the professional care and assistance they need.
Most of the time when I go to teach, we do 45 minutes of rehabilitation style yoga but some days I go in and I can tell the class is just off and many months ago, we had a day like that. No matter how many corny jokes I cracked or how hard I tried, the room felt flat so I decided to take a break from the movement portion of class and just have everyone go around and share with the class a hobby or pastime they enjoyed in their younger years.
I got answers anywhere from bowling, horseback riding, gambling and drinking (the older folks are an honest bunch!) and one woman named Marlene said painting. I asked if she still practiced her art and she told me her supplies were unfortunately still at her house and she didn’t often feel inspired enough to take the initiative to dive back in.
As my fiancé can confirm, I am a bit of a pusher so I pressed her to reach out to her family for her art supplies. I even relayed this message to her staff and while it didn’t seem like my words landed on deaf ears, follow through with things like this is understandably rare.
Months passed, I truthfully never thought to ask again but today when I finished teaching at Gladeview, Marlene asked me if I had an extra minute to come to her room because she had something to show me. I happily obliged and when we got to her room, her side was covered in sketches, drawings, supplies and paintings all in varies stages of her artistic process. She then took my hand and told me she’s been painting almost every day and has gotten back into her art because of that class where we simply spoke about her passions all those months ago.
It might be because I’m pregnant but seeing all of her beautiful artwork (and it truly was SO beautiful) and hearing those words from her made me emotional. I had no idea the impact that one 5 minute conversation had and it got me thinking about all of the other seniors I teach.
The point of me sharing this story is not to feed my ego or honestly even brighten your day- it’s to encourage everyone out there to put in more effort. It is a sad truth that the elderly population does often times get a bit neglected or forgotten about because of their physical and/or mental abilities slipping. If you have an elderly loved one or old family friend who you haven’t seen, make the time every so often to reach out and connect with them. Ask them questions about their life, listen to their stories, support their hobbies and passions because we forget during the hustle and bustle of our own busy lives that they are living theirs, too. You never know what a quick conversation can mean.
With her consent, I am sharing Marlene’s most recently finished painting. It has yet to be titled but was painted from a photo that a friend of hers took while driving up the Maine coast. She enjoys painting landscapes, homes and animals.
Thank you Marlene for making my whole week with your kind words and more importantly, sharing your beautiful artwork for the world to enjoy
