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-My 5 words are wisdom, patience, experienced, health issues, and family.

-Older adult's name: Francis Slama

-Relationship to you: Grandfather

-Tentative interview dates: September 21, September 28

-Virtual video chat

-Older adult’s permission to include photos/video? Yes

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Francis in 3rd grade. In those days he went as “Sonny.”

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Post card sent to Sonny’s Grandpa Gill, 1951. The post card was found in Grandpa Gill’s dresser drawer after Grandpa’s death in 1961.

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Francis's eighth grade graduation, with Grandpa and Grandma Slama

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Francis and Patricia celebrating 25 years.

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Francis inherited his great grandpa Gill’s recliner.

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With Patricia and their 14 grandchildren

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Francis has a great sense of humor. He said "a work in progress".

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I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to share your memories and life experiences with me. I truly enjoyed our conversation and appreciated how open and welcoming you were throughout our interviews. Listening to you share your different stages of life from childhood to adulthood to older adulthood, truly touched my heart. One thing that stood out to me the most was how open you were to sharing your experiences. I was touched by the stories you told about your family, the challenges you overcame, and all of the experiences that made you who you are today. Hearing these stories helped me understand not only your personal journey, but it also brought my attention to the fact that older adults carry so much strength with them. Through this project, I learned about aging successfully. I learned the importance of staying connected and finding purpose each day. You taught me how much he values the idea that everything happens for a reason. You helped me learn to accept the small moments and challenges that he faced as he grew older. You taught me the importance of gratitude as you grow old, and how you must appreciate every small moment. Thank you for your time and willingness to share your life with me. I can't express enough how grateful I am to learn and hear from you.

Love,

Meghann

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Reflecting on my interactions with my grandpa, I found the experience to be meaningful and eye opening. My initial reaction during the interviews was a mix of curiosity and appreciation as I listened to each of his stories. My grandpa responded openly and happily to my presence and seemed truly grateful for the opportunity to share his experiences with me. As our conversations deepened, I felt a trusting relationship forming. I noticed that my grandpa became more open and expressive of his experiences the more I showed interest. To support the reminiscing process, I made sure my communication style was calm and patient. I made sure to allow my grandpa plenty of time to gather his thoughts without feeling rushed. My grandpa is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, so this experience truly meant a lot to me to hear all of this from him before I didn't have the chance. I used active listening skills such as eye contact, nodding, repeating his statements back to him, and using open-ended questions to deepen his stories. I also used therapeutic techniques such as empathy and validation when he talked about moments of loss or challenge. I chose these approaches because they create a sense of emotional safety. The outcomes of my approaches were positive. My grandpa continued to deepen his stories while expressing more emotion. This interaction with my grandpa proved what I learned about how reminiscing supports emotional well-being and strengthens a person's sense of meaning in late adulthood.

Two connections from my readings stood out. Firstly, the reading emphasized the importance of reminiscing as a developmental task in older adulthood. I saw this in the way my grandpa reflected on both positive and negative experiences with acceptance. Second, the readings talked about how important therapeutic communication is for older adults. I noticed that when I sat patiently with my grandma, it encouraged him to share more openly.

At the beginning of this course, the words I thought of when I heard the word aging were loneliness, health issues, and wisdom. After completing this assignment, my thoughts have slightly shifted. Listening to my grandpa's stories reminded me that adulthood is not just a period of loss, but a period of wisdom and strength. I can now confidently associate the qualities like growth, reflection, and fulfillment with aging. This project challenged my initial thoughts and showed me the importance of seeing older adults as individuals with deep histories rather than current health needs.

This experience without a doubt with influence my future nursing practice in any setting. Whether I am caring for pediatric patients, young adults, or older adults, all of the skills I have practiced, such as active listening, empathy, and presence, are universal. This project helped me learn the power of giving patients the space to share their stories and how much it can strengthen my therapeutic relationship. From now on, I will be extremely mindful of the importance of understanding each patient's background, values, and experiences.