the garden gate · 2020. 3. 2. · named esther. the story of purim is told in the book of esther....
TRANSCRIPT
A Message from the Desk of Denise Romero
Dear Residents and Families,
This March we have an inspirational theme to start off a new springseason. We celebrate women and their various contributions thathave impacted our world! The purpose of Women's History Monthis to increase consciousness and knowledge of women's history: totake one month of the year to remember the contributions ofnotable and ordinary women, in hopes that the day will sooncome when it's impossible to teach or learn history without
remembering these contributions.
I personally celebrate the beautiful impact the women in my life have on me everyday of theyear. I would love to thank two incredible women in my life who have inspired me to be thewoman I am now: my grandmother Mercedes Duran and my mother Martha Romero. Theycame to this country at a very young age from El Salvador to live the American dream. Theyworked hard and instilled in me the mindset to be a very strong, independent young lady inmy teenage years. After having my own daughter and raising her alongside three generationsof strong and inspiring women comprising my grandmother, mother, and me; I’m very proudto honor courageous, loving, and inspiring generations of women this March!
I would love to hear about the impact that women have had on your lives, and look forward toa month of sharing such stories. We look forward to learning about another courageouswoman, Esther, during Purim and we will also celebrate a very green St. Patrick’s Day to helpput us in a green, renewing Spring mentality.
Enjoy an inspirational March!
~ Denise Romero, Executive Director
960 North Martel Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046 / phone: 323.876.1746 lic: 197609830/197609896
The Garden GateCommunity Newsletter
March 2020 Newsletter melrosegardens.com
Melrose GardensSnapshots
Jessica and Willenehonoring President'sDay in red, white, andblue
Julie, Fusako, andCarmen on our dailywalk.
Denise and Robertacelebrating Valentine’sDay!
Let’s offer a warm welcometo our newest ActivityAssistant: Josh! He movedto LA recently from theVirginia Beach, with his wife
and thirteen year old son. Full of Southern charm,he is already a hit with the ladies thanks to hisSouthern drawl and gentlemanly manners. He hasworked with senior populations for the past severalyears, and we are excited to have such anexperienced activities assistant to spice up ourprogram!
One of the best pieces of advice that he still followstoday was from Aaron, a resident in Virginia Beach.Aaron told him to prioritize his family over work,and to always make the time to enjoy his songrowing up.
This month we will be celebrating the contributions ofwomen to society and history! Throughout Women’s
History Month we will be examining the lives and contri-butions of women from a variety of different mediums.We will curate open discussions in the afternoonsconcerning their lives and contributions, providinginformation and examples of their ingenuity,intelligence, compassion, and creativity.
Tuesday are reserved for amazing female artists, with aweekly lineup featuring Georgia O’Keefe, Kara Walker,Frida Khalo, Yayoi Kusama, and Peju Alatise. They havevaried techniques, interests, mediums, andbackgrounds; but together provide a unique femaleartistic perspective.
Wednesdays we focus on talented female composers,including Fanny Mendelssohn, Amy Beach, RebeccaClarke, Ethel Smyth, and Francesca Caccini. We’ll learnabout their histories and listen to some of theircompositions, appreciating the diverse musical tastesthey provide.
On Thursdays we will continue our musical bent withfamous musicians who broke the mold as women artists!Examples include Billie Holiday, Marin Alsop, FlorencePrice, Sarah Chang, and Karen Briggs; it’s amazing thediverse musical talent these women have contributed tosociety!
Last but not least, we will explore some of the greatestthinkers and philosophies of our women philosophersand early feminists. Whether we agree with them or not,it is so interesting to discuss not just their values but usethem to explore our own! Featured philosophers includeAyn Rand, Anne Conway, Simone de Beauvoir, andHannah Arendt.
Events at Melrose Gardens
March 2020
Religious Services and StudyCatholic Mass - Sundays at 9:00 a.m.Shabbat Services - Fridays at 4:15 p.m.Church Services - Saturdays at 10:00 a.m.
Patricia I. 3/09 Jean K. 3/17 Mitchel G. 3/26
WOMEN’SHistory Month
MEET OUR NEWACTIVITYASSISTANTJosh
W O M E N ’ S H I S T O R Y M O N T H
Resident BirthdaysBirthday Celebrations
Pat was born and raised in NewYork City. She was happily married
and had two daughters. She worked as adedicated hospital administrator. However,some of her best memories have to do with
travel! One of her most precious memories was whenher husband took her to Italy. They traveled thecountryside, and had a wonderful time experiencingthe food, culture, art, and sunshine of Italy. She hasalways loved to travel, and once had the strangestexperience of her life while traveling. She and herhusband came back to their hotel room and foundsomeone sleeping in their bed. They tried to rousehim to kick him out but he was scarily unresponsive.That’s when they called the police.
As for enjoying life at Melrose Gardens, Pat lovesvariety. Her days are never the same, as she couldenjoy taking her little silky terrier Talulah, out for awalk, enjoy a morning coffee, make some phone calls,or join any interesting looking activities. When asked
what activities interest her, she said that it’s the people she finds interesting; theactivity doesn’t matter. She loves to observe what other people are doing, theirreactions, etc. - people can be incredibly revealing based on how they act versuswhat they say.
Her best quality is honesty, and if she were to give advice to anyone, she would tellthem to travel! But not travel to typical tourist places to impress your friends,instead travel to wherever you are interested in exploring - travel for yourself.
Life at Melrose Gardens
While many of the Jewishholidays are reflective andserious, Purim is one of themost joyous and funholidays on the Jewishcalendar. Save the date(March 10th at 1:30pm) forwhen we will explain andshare the story of Purim, aswell as some Hamentaschencookies! Jewish or not,everyone is welcome. Here’sa teaser: Purim commem-orates a time (about 2,300years ago) when the Jewishpeople living in Persia weresaved by a beautiful andcourageous young womannamed Esther.
The story of Purim is told inthe Book of Esther. Anexciting tale of heroism,romance, and intrigue, it is astory with several subplots.The heroes of the story areEsther, a beautiful youngJewish woman living inPersia, and her cousinMordecai, who raised Estheras his own daughter.
March 2020
W H A T I S
Purim?
Pat and ?? having a bit of funwith Pat’s terrier Talulah.
Every March 17th, millions dress in greento celebrate all things Irish, but especiallySt. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.The fourth-century saint was born inRoman Britain, but was kidnapped asa teen and enslaved in Ireland. St.Patrick escaped but returned to theland of leprechauns in 432 BC to spreadChristianity. While converting thecountry, it is said that he explained the holytrinity using a three-leaved shamrock.
We will be celebrating in the afternoon withdelicious green waffles and Irish coffee, learningabout Irish history, and dancing a jig as entertainerSteve Oliver serenades us with Irish classics. Makesure you wear green to our Emerald Isle Lunch inthe afternoon featuring corned beef and cabbage!
St. Patrick Day FestivitiesMarch 17 • A Day
PatRESIDENTSPOTLIGHT ON
March 2020 Be sure to like us on Facebook where you can find us at Melrose Gardens.
Teresa Flores, RNRegional Wellness Director
Crystal Hamilton-NiangDining Manager
Denise RomeroExecutive Director
Jessica KlasciusActivity Director
Katelin Aghel Family Coordinator
Guadalupe Mejia Maintenance Supervisor
Introducing... Our Staff
Gloria is perfecting herseasonal bookmark.
Mitchell presents hisbeautiful watercolor bookmark.
Anne displays herseasonal bookmark.
John and Diana holds their Valentine’s treat bags thateveryone made for their fellow residents.
Denise looks forward tospending Valentine’s Daywith the residentsincluding Bunny andJonathan pictured here.
Seasonal Activities Corner at Melrose Gardens
V A L E N T I N E ’ S
Art/LoveOnce again, Valentine’s Day has comeand gone. The holiday is always a greattime to express your love for the peoplein your life, whether a partner or afriend. It's also a great day to celebrateall the love in the air by watching aromantic movie, writing little lovenotes, eating sweet chocolates, andenjoying a special dinner. Our MelroseGardens and Cottages residents did allthat and more this past Valentine’sDay! You can see on the right imagesfrom the day as we expressed our loveartistically, and sweetly, as residentsjoined together to create little valentinetreat bags for everyone in the building.A simple, kind note and some candieswas our encouraging way to leteveryone know that they are alwaysloved, and never alone. We hopeeveryone felt seen and appreciated, andnow look forward to March holidays!