Veterans Day Celebration: The Colors Of Honor

Patriotism is alive and well at the Spearly Center! On Monday,
Novemeber 11th we celebrated Veterans Day, honoring over 30 of our
residents who gallently served our country. On the first floor of the
Spearly Center, visitors and residents were greeted by a floor to
ceiling display of the flags of each branch of service. In accordance
with tradition, the flags were positioned, left to right, with the
American flag, followed by the five branches of service according to
oldest to newest- Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard-
followed by the POW flag at the far right.

Festivities started at 10:00AM. Arlene Tate, Director of Connections
and an Army veteran with over 10 years of service, spoke eloquently of
the brave men and women who voluntaily serve to protect our country.
This was followed by residents and staff helping themselves to apple
and cherry pie, traditional desserts associated with patriotic
holidays such as Veterans Day. Throughout the celebration, Daniel
Played patriotic songs on the piano, with some of our "bravest"
residents dancing to the music. Open only to those who had served in
the military, the festivities concluded with the raffling off of five
hats- each one adorned with the name of a different branch of service.

Cherish the Journey and Keep the Spirit of Family: November Events

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and, it is indeed a perfect time to celebrate with loved ones; so it is not surprising that our Alive in All Seasons focus for the month of November is families: Cherish the Journey! Matsuo Basho wrote "every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home". These beautiful words remind us of the importance of cherishing this journey of life through celebrations that bind us together; family and friends, nurturing our spirits and fulfilling us in deep and meaningful ways.

This month as we celebrate our Alive in All Seasons theme of family: "Cherish the Journey", we will be hosting many wonderful activities and events with our focus on family! We will be working with residents, families, associates and friends to create family trees and start autobiographical journals. We will enjoy rich and meaningful activities utilizing the traditions, customs and skills of many of our family members, friends and all the significant people that have impacted our lives. We will reminisce about favorite family recipes, learn about families in different cultures, and join together in giving thanks. These activities will foster the development of deep connections with one another, thus, allowing us to cherish and celebrate each others' lives. We will enjoy the opportunity to create and relish more memories of delightful moments along this beautiful journey of life together!

We invite you to join us as we celebrate the beautiful gift of family, sharing some of your time treasured stories, traditions, customs and wisdom gathered with your loved ones on your journey together! We are filled with gratitude as we give thanks for yet another year bringing joy to the lives of all those on our path! We wish all of our families and friends a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday overflowing with rich abundance! All this month we will also be hosting several highlighted family and community events that include: our Food Drive benefiting those less fortunate all month, our Veterans Day Celebration: The Colors of Honor to give special recognition to Veterans and First Responders who give so much for the freedom of others through special music and light refreshments on November 11 from 10 am until 11 am, and our Spearly Golden Harvest: Thanksgiving Feast featuring turkey dinner with all the fixings on November 28 from 12 pm until 2 pm. We encourage you to review our calendar and join us for any or all of our events as we celebrate families and Cherish the Journey!

Spearly Fun At The Pumpkin Patch

 

On Thursday October 24th, Spearly Residents headed out to Hill's
Harvest Farm for their annual visit to the pumpkin patch. It was a
beautiful fall day, Colorado style: crisp, warm weather, bright red,
orange and yellow leaves adorning the trees, and a view of the Rocky
Mountains in the distance. Residents were buoyant with anticipation
as they headed north for this special outing.

Residents were greeted with a field of pumpkins that seemed to stretch
on forever. After wandering freely and picking out bright orange
pumpkins that varied from small and round to large and pointy,
residents hopped on board a flatbed truck for a traditional hay ride.
Horses were running free as the truck meandered through the fields.
Bernie, Wayne and Loyd- all seasoned ranch hands- felt right at home,
hollering at the horses as they galloped by.

Unlike most outings, the fun didn't stop once they returned home.
Rebecca and the rest of the Connections staff used the small, round
pumpkins for pumpkin bowling. Residents made Jack-O-Lanterns with the
larger pumpkins to add to the fesivities for one of the most favorite
holidays of the year: Halloween.

Looking back on that fun filled day, Rebecca said it best; "To see
them outside and so happy is what made the day special."