I was in my early teens and my youngest sister was 6 or 7 years old. Our great-grandmother lived on the other side of the elementary school playground just two doors past our grandparents’ house. Many of our aunts, uncles, and cousins also lived in the neighborhood and my little sister had an afternoon route. Anita worked her way through the neighborhood stopping at each house to say hello, give a
nd get a hug, a cookie, or piece of candy from one of our relatives. Nonna didn’t bake anymore but the cookie jar was always full. As Nonna grew older she didn’t remember our names but she knew we belonged to her and was always happy to see us. Eventually a hospital bed was set up in the dining room that separated her kitchen from her garden. It was within these two rooms that my grandfather, along with his five brothers and one sister, took turns caring for their mother. Our mom helped too and sometimes I took her evening shift. I’d feed Nonna her supper and keep her clean until Uncle Jimmy came home to spend the night on the little bed set up for him in the corner of the dining room. Many years have passed since my little sister walked her cookie route, and our lives have come full circle back to our village. We have spent the past few years care-partnering with a handful of elders in our community and we have learned a little about aging here in the United States. As citizens and care professionals we share the responsibility of improving the quality of care in our community. We are restoring our home at WestView On Main to share with people interested in residing within an intentional, multi-generational community which will include plants and animals. Our home will support care-partnering relationships and mirror family life where there is interaction with people of all ages. We will identify and implement practical tools and meaningful approaches to care that empower each of us to become a part of the solution by moving away from top-down bureaucratic approaches to care management. We are creating an empowered existence for the people we live and work with, as well as those living in the communities we serve. We hope to create a blueprint that will inspire like-hearted citizen care partners to do the same.
