Some elderly people in the Naxxar residential home may not be joining their relatives for Christmas tomorrow – even though they may have that option. Yet, they plan to enjoy themselves anyway and are in the good hands of dedicated care workers, who consider them family too.
Josephine Meli has been married for 55 years and has no intention of abandoning her husband on Christmas Day even though she is fit enough to climb the stairs to her daughter’s apartment and could easily go.
Her husband, John, however, is in a wheelchair and unable to access his children’s homes, so they are spending Christmas alone.
“I am a bit sorry,” said Mrs Meli, admitting she may pop out for a cup of tea with her daughter later. “I have no choice, much as I would love to,” she said, pointing out she has six grandchildren.
The couple had been in the Church-run Holy Family Home for almost four years, said Mrs Meli after she applied her red lipstick. In contrast, Mr Meli was not too receptive to the cameras, his health having taken a turn for the worse.
John and Saverina Gauci are in much the same situation: they have a numerous family, who visits them regularly, but they too won’t be going anywhere on Christmas Day, Mrs Gauci being confined to a wheelchair and access to relative’s homes being impossible.
“We have sold our home to pay for this,” said the couple that has been married for 66 years and has been in the home for over four.
Asked why he would be staying with his wife even though he was fit to join his family, Mr Gauci said: “What do you expect?” And his wheelchair-bound wife was quick to joke she would follow him if he left her on Christmas Day.
At almost 102, Harry Miller is the oldest person in the home but he is as lucid as they come. Interrupted from his routine of listening to loud classical music, he said he could not do much this year and would stick to what he was allowed to do.
“I would rather go out dancing with a nice girl,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye.
Having celebrated over 100 Christmases, Mr Miller, who has been in the home for six years, could not pinpoint a particularly special one. “They are all the same. I enjoy them all...”
Unfortunately, his wife is dead and two of his sons live abroad. But the other visits him three times a day, starting from 6 a.m. when, even though his father is perfectly capable of doing it himself, he stands at his bedside and sets up his pills.
Although Alan Miller is sorry his father cannot join them on Christmas Day, he plans to spend some time with him at the home, as he normally does.
“We have had him for many Christmases and, for once, we shall have to do without him. In a way, it’s not as nice as it used to be but, on the other hand, we have had him for 101 years so I don’t think we should be complaining.”
The reason why the spirits of these elderly remain high is also thanks to the staff at Holy Family Home, who have no problems working on Christmas Day.
Care worker Betty Lee has no family in Malta, so she is more than happy to relieve her colleagues, who would want to spend the day with their relatives. She plans to wear a hat and decorate a Christmas table for the residents who are not going home and cannot make it to the dining room.
Anna Sciberras, who has worked in the home for 16 years and is on duty tomorrow morning, admits it would be better to spend the day with her family but the residents are also “another family” for her.
Trying out the elegant Mary Christmas outfit she sewed herself, dining-room assistant Marisa Demicoli sets the final touches to the table and plans to spread some cheer.
She intends to do all the cooking today to be ready when she comes in to work on Christmas. But she has no problems with that: “The elderly fill me with happiness.”
On the menu is the usual turkey and Doreen Camilleri, one of the cooks, has already prepared the Christmas logs and was sprinkling the icing on them for that “northern touch”.