Older,
retired adults may not be impacted by stay at home orders in the same ways as
younger professionals or those with young children at home, but pandemic
limitations bring unique challenges to the older population, including
loneliness, isolation from family, inability to participate in volunteer
services that bring purpose and joy to their lives, and access to essential
items, such as groceries.
Royal
“Corky” Slack, who is 88, has been an active volunteer at the Windham Community
Garden, an activity he can no longer enjoy during the quarantine. Slack and his
wife have lived at the Gorham House in Gorham since their return to Maine in
2019.
Previously,
Slack said, they had lived in Windham for 13 years after moving to Maine to be
closer to their children. When they lived in Windham, Slack said, he started
working at the community garden after talking to neighbors who were involved.
When
he and his wife moved to Florida fulltime, Slack remained on the mailing list
for the garden.
When they returned to Maine, Slack said he wasn’t interested in
a plot for himself, since they no longer had to cook. But he knew the garden
had been working with the food pantry and volunteered to tend the food pantry
tomato plot.
He
wanted to remain involved not only because of the gardening, but more so
because of the people and their dedication to the garden.
“The
people running the Windham community garden are not only good gardeners,
they’re good people,” Slack said.
The
quarantine has prohibited his being able to go to the garden, but he hopes to
be able to return to it soon.
The
administration at Gorham House has done a great job of keeping the virus at
bay, Slack said, and the facility hasn’t had any cases of COVID-19. Overall,
Slack said, he and his wife are doing well.
Though they can’t have typical
family visits, their family has come to visit through their window, like when
his son and some of his grandchildren showed up with signs on his birthday.
“When
we view what’s going on in the world, we feel pretty blessed that we’re being
taken care of,” Slack said. Still, he
added, “I really look forward to working in the garden – because of the people.”
Raymond
resident Becky Alstrom said she and her husband haven’t been impacted too
greatly by staying at home, since they are retired and used to staying home.
As
Master Gardeners, she and her husband have a massive vegetable garden that she tends
ever year.
In March and April they
planted seedlings for this year’s garden.
She said they have two freezers full of meats and poultry, as well as
vegetables.
“I've always stockpiled so my pantry was full, and freezer to
stay home, so we have.”
The biggest challenge, she said, is
grocery shopping. “To Go” times have consistently been unavailable, so they go
during senior citizen hours every two weeks.
Another big challenge is
socializing, Alstrom said. “It’s really lonely at times. But my husband and I
are both survivors and we have fun together whether its cooking or games or
watching the birds eat. I am a bread baker so right as this hit, I ordered 50 pounds
of flour and 3 pounds of yeast,” she said.
But her husband misses his Wednesday
morning coffee time at the Windham Veteran’s Center, and she is missing the
Raymond Garden Club, Alstrom said. Most
of all, though, she misses her daughters and grandchildren. Facing Mother’s Day without them, especially
since her own mother died in October 2019 at the age of 101, and her brother
passed shortly after, was especially difficult.
“As he and I always celebrated
Mother’s Day with our mom together, it is very sad that I will be without
either of them and our own family,” Alstrom said last week.
The new state of the world is
difficult to process. “Getting used to
this new world brings tears to my eyes as I can't believe at our age, we are
not enjoying what we had planned,” Alstrom said.
Yet, there are some bright spots,
said Alstrom, who lives in a community on Crescent Lake with the Loon Echo
Trust bordering their land. “We see many walkers go by, enjoying their time in
fresh air.
A young couple with young daughters from Brooklyn moved into her
parent’s vacation home across from us. So, meeting them and helping each other
has been pleasant. It’s given us a grandparent feeling,” she said.
The Alstroms set up a vegetable
stand this week for neighbors to purchase organic vegetables from their
garden. Last week, they offered parsnips,
carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, rhubarb and chives, lovage, tarragon and
catnip. “I even have pie crust on the stand for those that cannot find it. It
is giving us a purpose now and to look forward to something,” she said.
Alstrom said that any small thing,
like getting haircuts last week, taking a ride, or going to the grocery store,
is a big treat now.
But even with all
the limitations, she said they feel blessed.
“We want for nothing and we have many things to do at home.”
Alstrom added a final bit of advice
to remember in this difficult time: “Just stay kind and thoughtful to each
other.”
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