My carpet bag is a little bit reminiscent of Mary Poppins. The bag doesn’t look very big, but I carry a lot of interesting items inside it, and they change almost every day, for every client.
In my bag today I have a paperback copy of “Matzo Balls For Breakfast” by Alan King and Friends. It’s a book of humorous and poignant stories about growing up Jewish, written by a host of celebrities. The stories are short enough to grab and keep anyone’s attention, and I have two clients right now who enjoy hearing a few stories from this book each time I see them.
My Marshall Bluetooth speaker with its elegant faux black leather cover with red velvet lining that doubles as a stand is always with me. It has a retro, vintage look that makes it easily identifiable as a “radio” for my clients, versus other Bluetooth speakers that are completely mystifying in appearance. With my Marshall speaker and Spotify Premium on my iPhone, I can play any song, composer, singer or genre that my clients like, with beautiful sound quality. Over time I create a personalized playlist for each client, and then they get to hear their favorite music every time we hang out together.
A big Ziploc bag of individual tea bags in assorted flavors and caffeine levels travels with me wherever I go. This is mostly for me, because I don’t care for the ubiquitous Lipton tea that every assisted living and memory care community has on offer. Many of my clients are coffee drinkers, right now, but I know I’ll come across some more tea lovers, soon.
A tough plastic box with a handle fits into my carpet bag and contains a gorgeous selection of artist-quality colored pencils, oil pastels, watercolor paints and brushes. Along with a pad of paper for mixed media, I’m ready for any type of art project that my clients are interested in.
This month’s selection of library books: The Oxford Book of American Poetry; American Indian: Celebrating the Voices, Traditions and Wisdom of Native Americans published by the National Society of American Indian Elderly; Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story.
Last, I always carry a couple of decks of Go Wish cards. These are produced by CODA Alliance and are printed with a series of wishes that people might want to express at the end of life, or during a health crisis. I don’t use them often, but when the time is right, I’m glad I have them with me.
