校园护理之家

I pushed Ronald’s wheelchair out of the nursing home onto the terrace overlooking the street. After adjusting his wheelchair, I settled down next to him on a rocking chair, prepared to share another quiet afternoon with this white-haired old man. Ronald doesn’t like to talk, and he gives very brief answers if asked a question. This afternoon, he suddenly asked me, “Do you dance?”

Surprised and confused, I replied, “What kind of dance? Ballet?”

He looked at me matter-of-factly, “No. Ballroom dancing.”

Three years ago, I started volunteering every Sunday afternoon for three hours at a local nursing home, helping with Bingo, reading letters and newspapers, and transporting the residents to and from activities. I had a preconceived notion of what a nursing home was like before I volunteered. I imagined hospital beds, sickly old people, and a general gloom hanging over everything. Before long, I found that I was mistaken. While most of the seniors living in the nursing home are in wheelchairs, their minds and hearts are far more lively and energetic.

On the terrace, I shook my head and admitted that I have never tried ballroom dancing. Ronald continued to tell me how he and his wife loved to dance. They went on numerous cruises to all kinds of exotic places, and they danced and danced and danced. In fact, dance was how they met. She was initially Ronald’s best friend’s girlfriend, and he introduced them to each other on the dance floor.

“At that time I wasn’t a dancer, and she took one look at me and said, ‘Boy, I am going to teach you how to dance.’ Then before long, she started going more and more with me rather than him. Then they broke up, and she became my girlfriend.”

I asked Ronald if she was beautiful.

He said, “Not particularly... it was the dancing that attracted me to her.”

The more interested I was in Ronald’s stories, the more eager and talkative he became. Ever since that day, I made a point of inquiring about the lives of the residents. They introduced me to a whole new world. I traveled by ship to the winter Olympics in Germany. I witnessed the patriarchal 1950s, where a teacher would be fired for being pregnant. I suffered the hardships of the Great Depression. To be able to hear these amazing stories of journeys and adventures from the elderly dispels the common image of boring, old-fashioned grandparents. I saw the spirited vitality and heard the sparkling laughter of these old folks.

The elderly in today’s society are often cast aside and ignored. People don’t take the time to share conversations with the elderly to discover the lives they have led and the treasures they have to offer. Through these past years of volunteering at the nursing home, I have grown and learned a lot. I have learned patience, tolerance, and most of all, respect and appreciation.

（责编：张楚武）