Chair Chi: ‘You’re Lovely’

I walked into an aged care centre where I was due to run a Chair Chi session for residents and bumped into one of the women – a resident, 92 years old – who has participated in previous Chair Chi sessions.

I said, ‘Yaksha Mash’.

She looked at me stunned.

Then she said, ‘come here’. I stooped down from my tall frame and she gave me a kiss on the cheek, and motioned for me to do the same to her, which I did.

She said, ‘You’re lovely’.

Why the reaction?

Well, she’s Polish and I greeted her in her own language, “jak się masz”, which means “how are you?” . She obviously appreciated my effort.

It’s something I try to do whenever I run Chair Chi sessions at aged care centres. I find out what languages are spoken and greet people in their own languages. And every time I do that I get a smile and a nod of the head.

Sometimes, all it takes is a small gesture to make an impact and a connection with someone else!

Footnote: For privacy reasons, the image here is a stock photo, not one of the resident herself.