A Day On The Job

written by Joslyn Ribar, MOCO program employee

My day starts with walking into my home program, and clocking in, just like any other day.

I put my things down and when I look up I see my coworkers laughing while they settle in for their shift.

My coworkers greet me as well with smiles and laughter, to which I reciprocate.

Thanking the out-going staff after they’ve passed on any important information, counting over controlled medications, checking the medication administration records – have become fluid motions for myself and my team.

As I walk through the halls I’m greeted by several residents.  I return their good mornings and their smiles.  I ask them about their children, their families, if they got a chance to watch that new episode on Netflix that came out last night.  I can see their eyes light up when I ask about themselves, like it’s surprising I’d be so invested in knowing them, even after all these years.

My job is a job, and yes I have to work for a living, there’s no getting around that. But what I do every day, here at Motivational Services, isn’t a job for me.

For so many of the residents, we are who they see every day, we are their life line, sometimes the only people who can understand them.

Time and time again I’ve sat with a resident as they cycle through emotions.

Anger, sadness, fear, frustration.  I sit with them as they scream and cry, knowing it’s not me they’re screaming at.  I watch them struggle with what if’s and what could have been.  I listen to their wants and needs, their goals, their “maybe someday…” dreams.

I go to give a resident his morning medication.  He greets me and ushers me over to the kitchen to show me the master piece he’s made for breakfast, as proud as ever.  I agree, the smell, the presentation of the plate, and I am taken aback at his culinary skills.

One resident talked with me while riding in the car on his way to work, musing about how much he wished he could have his own vehicle and drive again.

We talked about what steps he had to take to make that happen, how and when.

Several months later he smiles at me and shakes his car keys.  In that moment it’s all worth it.

What keeps me going is knowing that I may have no say in how or why this person is here, I may have no say in where they go from here, but while they are here I can take the opportunity to show them that people can still be kind, people can be safe.

I can show them that someone does want to listen to them, someone does care about when the last time they ate was or if they’d slept well that night.  The simplicities we take for granted, I get to give back abundantly.

Motivational Services gives me the chance to be a part of something bigger than myself.