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A Note About Dining Specials

Mon, July 8, 2019 Published by

There’s an all-new supplement to the Roadrunner which includes all dining specials for the week. If you did not receive one, please see the dining venues for an additional copy.

This week, beginning Wednesday, check out the fresh new Buckwald’s menu featuring a 52-week rotating menu. Look forward to the incredibe variety in the new insert called The Crave.

On this note, the additional space vacated by the specials will allow us to restructure the Roadrunner. Look for these fresh updates in this edition and future revisions taking place over time.

Come to the Quiet

Tue, June 18, 2019 Published by

Sometimes we don’t realize how noisy our world is until we escape to a place of quiet.  The Desert Mothers and Fathers believed that silence and quiet prevents us from being suffocated by our wordy and noisy world.  They believed that there is more to silence than not speaking; it is more than the absence of sound.  It is that space we create within, that portable cell, of rest and peace that can stay with us wherever we go.  Madeleine L’Engle wrote a book called A Circle of Quiet in which she described how every so often she needed out—away from all those people she loved most in the world in order to regain a sense of proportion.  Her special place was a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet: “I go to the brook because I get out of being, out of the essential.  If I sit for awhile, then my impatience, crossness, frustration, are indeed annihilated, and my sense of humor returns.”

Here on the campus we searched a long time for that circle of quiet, that place to gather thoughts and create that space to help us regain perspective.  Thanks to the inspiration and persistence of some of our residents, we created such a space but it remains yet undiscovered by many.  Irene Cool has helped shepherd the creation of our Quiet Place and I share with you her invitation to visit it.

“Come to the Quiet, Bring Thoughts That You Gather.  This is our Quiet Place at the east-side front of the Life Center and across from Ms. Kimberly’s office. It is there for you and me and all others to go to be still, away and alone or with another. It is there for us to pray, say or simply listen. Our room is there for us to rejoice, to sing, to weep but mostly to just be somewhere and away…from noise, from chatter…a free place to speculate or fret.  Fragrance fills the silence and helps to call on memories and allows our imaginations of happy times and remembrances of comforting places. Soft aromas can calm, purify our souls and heal our bodies.

The fountain of running water, a gentle mantra, assures us of the power of life…a continuum. A great purifier calms our anxieties.  Candles may be seen as a focal point for silence and we can increase our focus and concentration by simple candle gazing…to be mesmerized. The Himalayan salt lamp gives off a soft pink light which brings again the peace of the room to the soul.  So all of you who live here, caregivers and others…when you will sometime want a minute to rest…come to the quiet and find your peace.”

How I talk to God : How God talks to me.

Sun, March 31, 2019 Published by

This year, as well as fasting from my favorite treats, I have also been accompanied on my Lenten pilgrimage by the poet Malcolm Guite’s book Word in the Wilderness; A Poem a Day for Lent and Easter. Poems are an ideal companion for the season of Lent as we seek to reorient ourselves to God, with poetry often providing a call for us to ponder the wonders of the world around us while looking and listening for God at work in us.

One of the poems included in Guite’s collection is entitled How I talk to God, by Kelly Belemonte.

“Coffee in one hand leaning in to share – How I talk to God. ‘Momma, you’re special’, three-year-old touches my cheek – How God talks to me. While driving I make lists: done, do, hope, love, hate, try – How I talk to God. Above the highway hawk: high, alone, free, focused – How God talks to me. Rash, impetuous chatter, followed by silence – How I talk to God. First, second, third, fourth chance to hear, then another – How God talks to me. Fetal position under flannel sheets, weeping – How I talk to God. Moonlight on pillow tending to my open wounds – How God talks to me. Pulling from my heap of words, the ones that mean yes – How I talk to God. Infinite connects with finite, without words – How God talks to me.”

This beautiful work causes us to ask ‘What is prayer?’, and reminds us that a life of prayer is both speaking to God, but also listening, in turn.

In his reflection, Malcolm Guite says this;

“Saint Paul calls on us to pray without ceasing, leading some contemplatives have interpreted that as a call to leave the world with its business and distractions and seek long swathes of uninterrupted time devoted to prayer and prayer alone. Others have seen it as a call to have a continual hidden mantra, wheeling and cycling beneath all we do, providing an undercurrent or ground note of prayer beneath all our daily activities.”

In different ways for different people, both of these approaches are valid and neither exclusive of the other. Perhaps the greatest gift of Belemonte’s poem is to remind us, once again, that each day we find ourselves in conversation with God within the ordinariness of our lives.

May we all spend this season of Lent attuned to that conversation, to both speaking and listening, so that that the very rhythms of our everyday lives are opened up to God, and offered up as our unceasing prayer.*

Looking Forward to 2019

Sun, December 30, 2018 Published by

Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were filled with love and joy. I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all of you for making Beatitudes Campus the wonderful, spirit-filled community it is. Your warmth and compassion for each other is inspiring. Your wisdom has taught me so much about living life to its fullest. You have blessed me with the lifelong gift of your friendship. Thank you!

Now that 2019 is upon us, many of us have resolved to change some of our “bad” habits and replace them with “good” habits. How did the tradition of New Year’s resolution even start? Some 4,000 years ago, the Babylonians rang in their new year by making promises to the gods in hopes they would earn good favor in the coming year. They often resolved to return borrowed items and get out of debt. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus. During the Middle Ages, knights would renew their vows to chivalry and uphold the values of knighthood by placing their hand on a live or roasted peacock.

Things have come a long way since then! Modern new year’s resolutions became “a thing” in the 19th century. The first recorded use of the phrase “new year resolution” appeared in a Boston newspaper in 1813.

The tradition of making resolutions at the beginning of the year certainly can put a lot of stress on us – especially if we don’t keep them. Every year, in some way or another, I resolve to be a better person, get healthier, work less, save the world, become smarter, be more philanthropic, become more spiritual, engage more in the world around me – whew – what a tall order! And what a lot of pressure! By the end of the year, I usually haven’t fulfilled all of my resolutions in the way I imagined I would in January. Sometimes life doesn’t quite go the way I planned it to go. But by bending with the winds of change, I adapt to changing circumstances. But even then, that sometimes means I don’t accomplish my New Year’s resolutions. What if I could just lighten up a bit and allow myself to live each moment of every day fully – rather than pressuring myself and forcing change and feeling bad when the change doesn’t happen?

So, this year, my “un-resolution” is to resolve to get out of my own way and trust that the better version of me will come through when it’s ready to do so. I am hoping that taking time off from forcing change through new year’s resolutions will open new doors of discovery for me. And I’m excited! 2019 is going to be the best year yet – a year of incredible growth and evolution!

May the new year add a new beauty and freshness in your hearts.*

May I Have Your Retention?

Sun, July 8, 2018 Published by

Getting to know each other is probably one of the greatest opportunities we have at Beatitudes Campus.  This includes discovering the histories of neighbors and learning about the staff who are here to serve you.  As we get to know each other, parting becomes more difficult as we grieve and miss some one we grew to appreciate.  It affects you and it affects staff as well.  The longer someone is with us, the closer we get and the more caring we can become as we uncover what makes them smile, the passions that drive them, the sorrows they may be experiencing and the dreams they are climbing toward.

I have heard a million times how much residents miss a particular staff person when he or she moves on from our Campus.  That is one of the major reasons why retaining our staff is a number one priority for us.  We hire the best of the best because we know they will serve you caringly and with love and compassion.  For the last two years we have concentrated on doing all we can to create an environment where coming to work at Beatitudes Campus is not for just a paycheck, but a chance to be part of a community which will bring joy and a greater quality of life than one could have ever imagined.

Did you know, though, that administratively we have just a small part to play as compared to you the residents?  Because we care, we routinely check with all of our employees to see what brings the greatest satisfaction to them as they serve our community.  Do you know what the one response that came up over and over again more than any other when asked “What types of things make you feel most valued and appreciated?  Their pay check?  Their benefits?  Their managers?  Those do play a part and they are important.  But believe it or not – that those only came up two or three times in the comments.

“When people say thank you”, “When the residents tell me and my coworkers how good of a job we do on the carpets”, “Praises for good work”, “Appreciation”, “That smile from a happy resident”, “When people go and eat and say “that food was bomb!”, “Having a resident tell me how much I helped them when they didn’t know what to do or who to ask for help”, “I feel appreciated when people say ‘he did a good job!’”, “When the residents say I do a good job and smile”, “When my hard work and minor details are noticed and not taken for granted”, “Being complimented/praised when doing a good job”, “Getting compliments about work”, “Acknowledgement of work”, “When the residents tell me how much they love me”.  Those are just a sampling of the number one responses.

It is you, the residents, who make life so good for our employees.  You never know who is having a bad day, suffering a deep loss, on the brink of crying inside, struggling with whether this is the right place for them, and it is your words of appreciation and showing that they are valued that can make all the difference in the world.

This is your community and ultimately the staff that are here, all 450, are here because of you.  They might be able to get paid more somewhere else, but they are here because of you and the way you appreciate them and value them.  You heard it straight from them.

People leave for all sorts of different reasons, but please know the more you care, recognize, acknowledge and appreciate the people around you, especially the staff, you make a huge difference in their lives and increase the joy they experience when coming to the Beatitudes Community.

That’s a lot of power that each of you have!  You can make a difference in who chooses to work here or see their work and themselves as valued, simply by showing that you care about who they are and the work they are doing.  The more you do this the more we will have people begging to come to work and to live here, and for longer and longer times.

So now that I have your retention, just know you are an amazing part of this community with the power to transform lives whenever you touch a life with a kind word or smile.*

Machu Picchu

Thu, February 2, 2017 Published by

Machu Picchu by Georgianna Palmer  

(We climbed with friends the stones of Machu Picchu, one of the Wonders of the World.)

In the late 1970’s, my husband Mike and I were members of the Paradise Valley Racquet Club.  We met interesting couples there with whom we played tennis and with whom we socialized.

We became very close friends with one of the couples that we met.  Suresh was a physician who was born in India; his wife Trudy was a vivacious redhead born in Germany.

They had two bright and charming children, Miriam and Robert, both of whom I adored.

Suresh was invited to attend a conference of physicians to be held in Lima, Peru.  Suresh and his family urged us to accompany them.  We jumped at the chance, not only to enjoy the company of our good friends, but to enlarge our experiences of the world.

We had never seen such poverty as we saw in Lima.  Children followed us everywhere begging for a handout.  Young mothers sat on blankets cradling their tiny babies, holding their hands out, their eyes entreating pitifully.  Our guide warned us not to be too generous or they would tell their friends and we would have no peace.  Miriam and Robert could hardly believe what they saw.  They had been raised in luxury with private schools, tennis, and riding lessons.  They were learning about how others in the world lived.  It was an education for us all.

We also got the opportunity to see in the Andes one of the Wonders of the World–Machu Picchu–a city built by ancient Inca tribes on the top of a high, steep mountain.

The Incan civilization began in the 13th century until they were conquered by the Spanish in 1572.  Their religion was centered around the worship of Inti, their sun god.  They built Machu Picchu in honor of this god.  They mined stones from a quarry at the site, lined them up and shaped them to fit together perfectly, so perfectly that they have remained in place for centuries without the help of mortar.

To be able to visit this ancient city we traveled by bus which spiraled the steep mountain roads.  There was a young boy who stood silently by the door of our bus as we boarded.  He could have been about 10 or 11 years old.  He watched us with sad eyes.  We saw him again on the next level of our spiral up the mountain, and we realized that he had run straight up the mountain to wave at us in the bus as we turned through the hairpin curves..  On the next spiral level, there he was again.  He was wearing rubber goulashes.  He appeared again every time we made our turn all the way to the top.

After our tour, we boarded our bus and spiraled down.  We saw him again each time we circled the mountain on the way down.  At the bottom, there he was with his hand out as we stepped out the bus door.  Of course, everyone gave him at least a dollar and smiled at him appreciatively.  This enterprising young man must have gone home with what was to him a fortune.

We returned to Lima and took some pictures of the city and the natives.  Everyone on the street seemed to be carrying bags of wares to sell to the tourists.  We noticed that many of the men and women wore distinctive hats with high crowns.  These hats, we were told, designated a special status of which they were particularly proud.   They were mestizos, which means half-breeds.  They walked proudly, aware of their specialness.

The trip was quite an adventure.  My husband seemed to enjoy that everyone on the trip assumed that he was a doctor, letting him pretend and enjoy a special status of his own.  He gave fleeting thought to changing careers.