I had always heard Meadowlark Hills is for older adults, but when I moved in, I found out Meadowlark Hills keeps us young.
Outdoor Encounters
November 14, 2024
Blog
I trust this Meadowlark Blog entry finds you all in good spirits and surrounded by the warmth of our vibrant community. This week's inspiration for our musings on patience and organization comes from a source close to my heart – my nine-year-old daughter, Murphy.
On Feb. 14 about 25 years ago, Meadowlark resident Marion Pelton, a retired professor of music at Kansas State University and longtime supporter of the arts, walked into the chief executive officer’s office with a rose and an envelope. According to then CEO Steve Shields, his first thought was that Pelton, a friend and mentor, was bringing him a Valentine’s Day remembrance, but when he opened the envelope, he found a signed check.
“What is this for?” Shields asked.
We can hear them vocalizing (some would say yelping) many evenings on the Meadowlark campus. We sometimes see their tracks here-or-there in mud or soft soil, or a tuft of either fur or feathers that makes us wonder if it’s a leftover from some coyote meal. We sometimes see them out in a field or pasture or racing across the highway in front of us. They work very hard at keeping their distance from humans. In spite of the mystique surrounding them, and the fact that they occur everywhere, coyotes (Canis latrans) present no direct danger to us.
Happy 163rd birthday to Kansas on Jan. 29, 2024! The Great Seal of Statehood was approved by the first Kansas legislature on Jan. 29, 1861. It was designed by John J. Ingalls, state senator from Atchison. The Kansas motto, Ad Astra per Aspera (To the Stars Through Difficulties), circles the border of the seal. Symbols on the seal include a cluster of 34 stars, marking our place in the line of states admitted to the United States of America. The sun rises over a Kansas landscape, which depicts the history of Native Americans hunting American Bison as a wagon train heads west.
Here we are in the post-Holiday Season doldrums. And what to do with ourselves? There’s always football, but that doesn’t do much for the souls of humans. We could take a fishing or beaching walking vacation somewhere in the Caribbean. We could offer to care for grandchildren to give their parents a chance to rest up after the holidays. After all, changing batteries in toys is hard work.
“This is Our Happy Place.” A custom-made, wooden sign crafted by Meadowlark resident Steve Hall hangs at Meadowlark Market, and the words seem to aptly describe the feelings of those associated with the monthly fundraiser. Happy donors, happy customers, and happy volunteers have helped to create another successful year in terms of awareness of and funds raised for Meadowlark Foundation’s Good Samaritan Fund.
The Meadowlark Travelers' holiday-themed getaway last week included one ark, two eye-catching light displays, three entrees at a private, catered dinner, and more decorated trees than we could count. Twenty-six residents and Passport members, as well as friends and family members joined Monte Spiller, Resident Services Leader, and Becky Fitzgerald, Development Director, on a six-day tour with meal, hotel, and/or attraction stops in six states: Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.
I recently ran across the term “moral beauty.” As is often the case with such terms, this expression refers to a battery of actions most likely practiced by people ever since one human first looked into the face of another—even without a formal name for those actions.
This will be our last article for our caregiver series highlighting National Caregiver’s Month. Last week, we discussed the importance of self-care and the importance of taking breaks. This week we are focusing on ways you, as a caregiver, can get a break from caregiving.
The fourth article in our series highlighting November as National Caregiver Month addresses self-care. When caring for others, it is impossible to do everything, and it can be easy to put self-care last. Even though we have all heard the sayings about putting on our own oxygen mask first and we can’t pour from an empty cup, the reality is there are only so many hours in a day.