Washing Our Hands at Kirby Pines

Well we are about to start another month in the midst of Covid-19 and we have all learned how valuable real friends are during this pandemic.

So many friends came to our aide in volunteering to open the Blossom Shop, and to make hundreds of cloth masks for the community. Others did grocery shopping for their neighbors, or delivered packages to them; while others sent cards to fellow residents in healthcare. Cheryl and her team developed a new walking club and started off with sixteen teams; plus they added movies to our in-house television station as well as live performances. Don Johnson devoted time to providing staff with a morning prayer over our Nortel system and delivering words of comfort to residents on live TV. The fact is everyone at Kirby Pines is a true friend to one another.

In May, we traditionally hold our huge picnic in celebration of Mother’s Day, but as I write this article, we still don’t know if Covid-19 will delay this event as it has with so many others. However, I do remember my mother giving me all the things I needed to know to survive this pandemic. I bet your mother did too.

Lessons learned like, “wash your hands, you’ve been playing with the dog” and “wash your hands, it’s time to eat” and “I don’t care if you washed your hands just a little while ago, go wash them again!”. And remember, “Don’t get too close to those strangers” and “cover your mouth when you cough” and of course, “wash your hands, you just coughed into them when you covered your mouth”.

Happy Mother’s Day mom, and thanks for just being you. After using my keyboard to type this article, I’m off to – you guessed it – wash my hands.

Michael Escamilla,
Executive Director,
Kirby Pines