It was a Friday the 13th, but red was the color of this lucky day in the Homeland Center Diner.
“It’s good to be spending any time with my husband,” said Claire Zeiters as she enjoyed Homeland’s Valentine’s Day luncheon and a visit with her husband of 42 years.
Claire said Jim’s move to Homeland Center echoed the years in the 1990s when his parents and aunt were residents of Homeland.
“The care is wonderful,” she said. “I’m very pleased. They keep me abreast of everything that’s going on.”
Surrounded by red hearts on the diner’s walls and pink-and-red cloths on the tables, residents and their loved ones enjoyed chicken parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken alfredo, and more.
Kirk Wise, a popular entertainer for Homeland programs, sang favorite songs and, at one point, a Homeland staffer joined in to sing a rousing edition of “Rolling on the River.”
Wise also shared that the next day would be a “double whammy” for him – Valentine’s Day, and his anniversary with his wife of 44 years.
Before Jim Zeiters moved to Homeland, the care and services he received from Homeland-At Home gave his wife the peace of mind she needed to manage her daily responsibilities.
“Our care provider knew what to do and where things were,” she said. “If I had somewhere to go, I could just go. We’d just pass in the doorway, and I knew she would take such good care of him.”
For many guests, the luncheon brought up memories of past Valentine’s Day celebrations.
Cathy Nelson joined her wife, Homeland resident Kathy “Shoes” Fillman, for lunch.
“They’ve gone to all this trouble,” Nelson said. “They’ve decorated. They’re wearing beads. It’s like bringing some normalcy to the day.”
Before coming to Homeland last August, Fillman spent a week at another facility, and Nelson felt anxious whenever she had to leave.
Homeland Center changed all that.
“I got here, and I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, I can breathe,’” Nelson said. “I tell the floor nurses and aides all the time that I can go home and know that she’s taken care of.”
