Blue Velvet - The Thin Edge of Dignity

jdemonnin

Wikipedia enlightens us about Blue Velvet, a song made famous by Bobby Vinton –remember him? – in 1963, which went to the top of the pop music charts - the Billboard Hot 100 - and held its position of dominance for eons – which in the catapultic world of popular music was a twinkly three weeks.

We learn, too, that Blue Velvet is also a psychological film noire (which, after I saw it, I found to be an unsettling violent and coarse David Lynch confusion. (My film critic editorial judgment.)

But Blue Velvet is more than sappily sentimental lyrics or an horrific film. Blue is the color of trust and responsibility. Blue represents the helper, the rescuer, the friend in need; a giver, not a taker; a safe and non-threatening color.

And blue is the color of the blouses worn by the Caregivers in my Assisted Living Facility – signifying the nature of their role in residents’ lives.

At meal times, a swarm of blue blouses zig-zags the dining room, pushing wheelchair users to a spot at a table, collecting walkers from the tables placed near their chairs by their owners, taking orders for food preferences, distributing coffee, tea, and juice, carrying plates from the kitchen to residents, stripping used plates and glasses from the tables. Carrying out the dining room tasks three times a days – being helpers and givers.

Then there are the individual Caregivers, who, at any time, answer the specific call of a resident in need.

In addition to helping the community of residents, Caregivers are rotated and assigned to assist specific residents. Each month, in the rotation, a different blue blouse is responsible for me: to dress, toilet, shower, and put to bed.

Most Caregivers deserve to wear their blue blouses. They mirror the characteristics of the color.  As the song rhapsodizes:

She wore Blue Velvet

Softer than satin was the light

Bluer than velvet were her eyes

Warmer than May her tender sighs

All a resident wants is a Caregiver who does.

Editor's note: Do you have a caregiving story? We'd love to hear from you. Share your experiences at https://act.aarp.org/iheartcaregivers/

[Photo: Istock - Atilla Barabas]