Saturday, May 27, 2017

Goodbye to Nancy

It's hard to believe another month has almost passed us by, but May is coming to a close.  As usual, the Arc of Abilities had a busy week, and this time, it included a happy birthday for Devin, a bittersweet farewell to our sweet friend Nancy, and a festive celebration of our partnership with Eaton Corporation.  Join us on a recap of the last full week of May!

The rain didn't stop us from heading to Freedom Park on Tuesday to work with our Master Gardener friends.  We have had five sessions with them and each one has been engaging, educational, and fun!  This week we learned about butterflies.

Here, our lead MG, Linda, introduces Judith, who is an expert on many butterflies, but especially the monarch.  She taught us about the life span of butterflies and gave us some fascinating facts about the monarch in particular.  For example, they are the only insect that migrates and their trip to Mexico is over 2,500 miles.  Each year the monarchs return to the same trees in Mexico, even though each year they are a different generation...so how do they know which trees to go to?! WoW!


Our associates enjoyed looking at butterfly eggs and caterpillars using a microscope and magnifying glasses. 


Ask your associates if they remember what the little black pellets left behind by the very hungry and always eating caterpillars are called?! (Hint:  it rhymes with grass and begins with "fr.")



Tai Chi Wednesday got us off to an energetic start.  Even though Tai Chi is a gentle form of exercise, it gets our blood flowing as we reach and stretch, and when it's over we feel ready for the busy day ahead.  And Wednesday was busy...



After a morning of Eaton work and preparation of our wraps for lunch, we set up in the multipurpose room to celebrate Devin's birthday and say goodbye to Nancy.

Since our friend Devin must adhere to a soft food diet, cakes and cupcakes just won't do for his birthday.  His very favorite treat is a Frosty from Wendy's, so we sent Nan up the road to get him a surprise Frosty!  Here, he immediately threw two thumbs up as he realized Nan had a Frosty and it was for him!


Then, as we sang "Happy Birthday" to him, he clapped along and sang louder than almost anyone else!


The rest of the gang enjoyed ice cream sundaes, one of Nancy's favorite treats, as we transitioned from birthday celebration, to farewell "ceremony."  Nancy was emotional, in fact, most of us were, but our goodbye to her was more joyful than sad.

 
 
After ice cream, we played her favorite game, Bingo.  Sam had recently gifted us with a version of Food Bingo that has words and pictures (yummy looking pictures, we might add) and was a lot of fun and a refreshing change from "regular" Bingo.  Everyone enjoyed Nancy's favorite game!



We gave Nancy a photo strip and a necklace to remember us by, and our sweet volunteers Becky and Pam W. also gave her some parting gifts of puzzles, coloring books, pencils, and snacks that she can use in her new home.  Then, Soup popped in to say goodbye and he gave her a new umbrella, which he insisted on showing her how to use...but Nancy insisted on telling him to get outside for that demonstration because it's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors!  We will miss Nancy very much.  She is sweet and "wise" as our "senior" associate and we could always count on her to share her wisdom or extensive knowledge of history, current events, and old wives' tales!  We wish her the best and hope she will be able to come and visit.  Our door is always open!



By Thursday, we knew we had to get busy preparing for our Friday luncheon, so, after our volunteer duties in the school were complete, we began making decorations.  This was all hands on deck, so we didn't get pictures, but we looked like a red, white, and blue party factory with all the stars, wreaths, and pictures we created!  We also welcomed Matt, a potential new associate, who spent Thursday and Friday with us and will likely join the program later in the summer.  

Thursday was also National Tap Dance Day so we looked at some videos of famous tap dancers and then put on some music and let our guys give it a go...you'll see Matt shaking a leg in this video! 




It's been a long 3 weeks since the school began SOL Testing and we aren't allowed to be outside during the morning hours so as not to distract the students who are testing.  So we've had to revisit some of our old favorite indoor games.  On Thursday, we had a rousing game of whatever this is...pool noodles, balloons, and our bottoms kept on the chairs...haha!


There is another custodian named Mr. John who helps us a lot, but he's more behind the scenes.  He opens up our rooms each morning, unlocking all the doors and turning on the lights.  After working for 54 years (retiring from the NN Shipyard and then spending 18 years with the school system), he is retiring next week.  We tried to surprise him with "Happy Retirement" cards and a little reception, but when Soup called him down, he was not in the building.  He had gotten called away for a meeting!  


But he was able to stop by on Friday morning!  Best to Mr. John and enjoy your retirement after 54 years!


During our Friday morning Dancy Party, we played patriotic songs and discussed the solemness of the Memorial Day holiday.  We have some true, blue Americans in this group!  Here, they spontaneously join hands during "America the Beautiful" and in the video clip below, they proudly lend their voices to "God Bless the USA."





For lunch on Friday, we had Lexi's Gdad cook up some pork bbq and we invited our friends from Eaton to join us in celebration of our wonderful partnership with them.  We are so lucky to have the work they provide for us and are thrilled that recently they have entrusted us with more tasks that not only challenge us, but give us great joy and confidence as we complete the work and look back on what we've done.  Our team worked diligently to set up (and later clean up) for this huge event, and a good time was definitely had by all.




Tracy was also included in this celebration luncheon and what a surprise when she was able to bring her darling kids, Colby and Heidi, with her!  We wouldn't be in the position we are with the Arc of Abilities Day Support Program were it not for Tracy's support and advocacy!  Big thanks to you, Tracy!!



We thank our Executive Director, Pam McGregor. for joining us to recognize Eaton and Tracy, and give her credit for this photo of all of us!  We don't get many of these!


We're looking forward to enjoying the Memorial Day weekend with family and friends.  But before we go, here's a look at what's coming up next week:

Tuesday:  Bowling and pizza lunch!  Please wear your Arc shirts!  Weather permitting, we will take a hike at a trail that we haven't visited before!

Wednesday:  Eaton brought us a lot of new work to do, so this will be a big vocational day, but we will also address taking care of our hearing, as it is National Save Your Hearing Day!  Lunch on your own.

Thursday:  We will welcome June with National Olive Day.  We'll do a study of this healthy fruit. Lunch on your own, but olive samples will be offered! After lunch we will head to the CW Art Museum for another visit/lesson.  This time the topic is "Tales of George Washington."  Please try to wear Arc shirts (2nd time this week)!

Friday: Oh, the temptation...It's National Doughnut Day and the associates have been anticipating this one ever since the folks at nationaldaycalendar.com sent us the big calendar!  So, we will have doughnut samples in the morning (skip or eat a light breakfast) followed by a lighter lunch of chicken salad and fruit...we'll celebrate Rotisserie Chicken Day by making our lunch with rotisserie chicken!

Enjoy the long weekend!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan





Sunday, May 21, 2017

Video Test!

With a shout out to Patrick's dad, Charles, for sending me oh-so-simple directions...we present what we hope will be the first of many video snippets from the Arc of Abilities!  In this test clip, we show our associates working on assembly for Eaton during an afternoon work session on May 18th!

Here goes...




Saturday, May 20, 2017

The Beat Goes On

It was another fun and busy week at the Arc of Abilities!  We marched to our usual beat...bowling, Eaton work, volunteering in the school, Tai Chi.  But we also had a blast keeping the beat at our  DrumSTRONG drum-a-thon as we raised funds and drummed for cures!  Here's a look at our week:

Drew had a directive from Meemaw to "bowl 100" before we left Tuesday morning.  (Meemaw was staying behind at the center to work on the Eaton job!)  Well, he didn't disappoint!


We were lucky it was a beautiful day so after bowling we got in a good walk along the path at the JCC Rec Center.


It was an unusual day Tuesday in that five of our friends were absent.  Some weren't feeling well and a couple were traveling.  So our time at the playground seemed quieter than usual.  It was relaxing and peaceful as we enjoyed each other's company and the comfortable temperatures. 






Wednesday began in typical fashion with an hour of Tai Chi.  Look how attentive everyone is to Michael's instruction.  We worked on posture and confidence this week. 
   


Wednesday quickly became an atypical day when we had to go into lockdown about 10:20.  We knew it must be real since the students at the school were in the midst of SOL testing, so we were a little nervous when we got the word to move to the locker room.  However, we were soon put at "ease" when staff informed us that the incident requiring the lockdown was off-campus and the school was reacting in an "abundance of caution."  


By now, you may know that there was a homicide in the neighborhood across the street and the suspect was at-large for a period of time.  He was apprehended without incident at a nearby store, and the lockdown was lifted shortly after noon.  We remained calm and felt fortunate that we were safe in the locker room AND we had toilets and running water!  There was enough room for us to stretch out and ultimately, walk around a bit (remaining very quiet), so it wasn't too uncomfortable.  Some of our friends even dozed off!  We are grateful for their maturity in following directions and maintaining their composure.

After a late lunch and some extended choice time, we rallied our troops for a short afternoon work session.  Here, some of them work on assembling a mailing for Walsingham Academy.  Devin A., who is Walsingham's Director of Advancement, has recently joined The Arc's Board of Directors and visited us a couple of weeks ago.  When he discovered our abilities, he immediately enlisted our help for this task!  Thank you, Devin! (You'll see a picture of him later as he also joined our drum-a-thon on Friday!)


Meanwhile, back in the big room we were busy assembling Eaton parts...here, Josie is attaching a small window to the opening in a larger part called a powerslide door.


Just as we were about to begin working, we saw a friendly face approaching our back door.  We were delighted to see our favorite Moose Lodge friend, Patti!  It had been a while since we hooked up with her, and after our anxious morning, it was great to have an old friend hang out and even help us with the work!  In this picture, Patti and Nan are affixing a series of 4 labels to the powerslide doors, a task that most of our associates have difficulty with and one on which we count on our volunteers (and staff) for completion.

 

Our associates are better at the "nuts and bolts" (literally) assembly, and boy, do they rock and roll when we set this up! Here are some shots from our Thursday work session.






Sometimes, though, you just have to turn trash duty into a little fun!  Go for a 3 point shot next time, Devin!



It's never all work and no play at the AoA, and Thursday we celebrated the birthday of our newest associate, Xavier!  This was a wonderful opportunity for us to show him how we honor each other with our "birthday board" (cards and balloons) as well as an opportunity for him to share with us a taste of gluten-free cupcakes...which were delicious!


Probably the biggest highlight of this week was Friday's drum-a-thon as we drummed up support for those affected by cancer.  We were excited to put to use the square box drums we had made last week.  Aren't they cool?!  The very talented Sandy Layman and her equally talented children, Cole and Logan, led us in a "blissfully successful" (to quote Sandy) drum circle.  We raised over $200 for drumSTRONG!  Thank you for the generous donations! We drummed and played other rhythm instruments and were joined by Arc Board members Devin A., (from Walsingham), Erin J., (from Chesapeake Bank), and Latara (from James City County government), a potential Arc Board member.  What a fun and energizing morning!  Pictures are worth a thousand words!






In this photo, you can see Devin A., and Erin J., Arc Board members, and to the left of Patrick is Latara, potential Arc Board member!  We welcome their support...and participation!  (That's Josie with the wild hair...she was getting her dance on during a very rhythmic part of the drum-a-thon!)




We can't thank Sandy enough for introducing us to this fun activity and for also helping us understand the importance of doing our little part to help others.  We drummed with "intention" yesterday and it felt great!  For those of you on Facebook, if you don't follow The Arc of Greater Williamsburg's page, now would be a great time to start!  Sandy put up a beautiful post about the drum-a-thon and there are lots more pictures capturing our magical day!

Friday was also National Pizza Party Day and Devin and Erin treated us to pizza and lemonade for lunch!  Unfortunately, we were all so hungry after drumming that we failed to take pictures of ourselves downing the pizza!  But it was pizza...so you know it was yummy and we enjoyed it immensely!  Many thanks to Devin and Erin for a great lunch time treat!

For dessert, we had deferred "celebrating" Cherry Cobbler Day which was on Wednesday, so we could make it for the Pizza Party.  We used a simple One Cup Cobbler recipe and just dumped everything into the baking pan before popping it into our oven.


We topped it with a dab of vanilla ice cream...and voila!  It was yummy!  (And we thought to get a picture...)


Thus ends another fabulous week at the Arc of Abilities!  Thanks for joining us on our journey!

Here's what's coming up next week:

Tuesday:  Bring a bag lunch as it's Master Gardening Day at Freedom Park.  Weather permitting, we will take a hike on a new trail and enjoy lunch on the patio at the Interpretive Center.

Wednesday:  This will be a bittersweet day for us.  It's Devin's birthday (yay!) and we will celebrate with ice cream sundaes and a surprise Frosty for him (Shh...it's a secret!).  It's also Nancy's last day with us (sad!), so we will have a special lunch of ham and turkey wraps and play her favorite game, Bingo.  We will miss our Nancy, but wish her well as she moves to a new home and makes new friends in Newport News.

Thursday:  Lunch on your own and hopefully a "typical" day of volunteering in the school, completing some vocational tasks, socializing and getting movement time with friends, and hitting the "books" for a little continuing education!

Friday:  We celebrate our amazing partnership with Eaton Corporation by welcoming Jorie and her peeps for a bbq lunch provided by Lexi's Gdad!

Happy Weekend to All,

Lisa, Carol, and Nan