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In Pursuit of the Sunbeam: A Practical Guide to Transformation from Institution to Household
Camping with Friends
One morning some residents in the house decided they wanted to take a van ride through the state park. So eight of them and some of us who serve in the house hopped in the bus and headed for the lake. As we drove by campsites, Ruth said she and her husband used to camp at the lake all the time. She told stories about her sons bringing their friends and how they were all such good boys. Ruth reflectively told us camping was the only way her husband could get away from his job. Her eyes brightened as she described how she would have the camper packed and everything ready to go when he got home.
As we drove through the state park, Ruth looked at a grove by the spillway and said, “See those trees over there? I could sit in a lawn chair in the shade and read a book all day.”
So, I asked if anyone would like to go camping. Surprisingly, five of the eight said, yes!
After a wonderful ride on a beautiful day, we headed home. As soon as we arrived and unloaded the bus, I could hardly wait to tell Annie, a team member, “I’ve got good news! The residents want to go camping!”
Word quickly spread, and we had a plan in no time. The residents prepared a dinner menu including hot dogs, chips, beer and s’mores, and a traditional breakfast lineup of bacon, eggs, toast, milk and coffee. We all got busy collecting sleeping bags and the necessary items. We reserved cabins at the state park, groceries were packed and off we went.
After settling into the cabins, we built a campfire. We roasted hot dogs and cooked baked beans in an iron skillet on the fire and finished the meal off with s’mores. It felt so good just sitting around the fire, eating and joking around. And it felt even better seeing how relaxed and happy the residents were just shootin’ the breeze while the fire crackled.
About the time the last s’more was gone, Mother Nature surprised us with a nice shower and we all hurried to the cabins to settle in for the evening. With the rain playing its song on the tin roof, we told stories (even a few ghost stories) from our bunks until, one-by-one, the residents drifted off to sleep.
The next morning over bacon, eggs and much needed coffee, we all talked about how much fun we had the night before. It didn’t feel like people feel when living in an institution for the aged. And it didn’t feel like people feel who work there. It felt like what it was: leaving home for an overnight camping trip with people you love, roasting hot dogs and telling bedtime stories with rain gently pelting a tin roof.
Just like Ruth remembered.