life review

Introduction Rosada “Rose” Faust is my 91 year-old grandmother who was born in Lexington, Georgia in 1927 to Aron Huff and Jhonnie Huff. Rose readily agreed to participate in the life review interview, an opportunity that offered both of us a time to reflect on her legacy. While I have always had enormous respect for my grandmother, discerning the details of her life helps me to become a more conscientious and compassionate geriatric nurse. The life review process also illuminates the different concepts of legacy.

For Rose, her legacy has clearly been her family and the love she shares with others. Summary of Interview Rosada describes herself as being a “very obedient child,” who stayed out of trouble and never cursed once in her life. Although Rosada walked five miles on a dirt path to school each day, she did not complain. She loved learning, and her favorite subject in school was spelling. Rosada went to school until the eighth grade, which was quite normal for the time.

After she received her eighth grade diploma. Rosada worked on a farm picking cotton. She enjoyed farm life and working with animals, but did not appreciate the long hours stooped over in the hot sun. When she came home exhausted from a long, hot, day, Rosada would literally collapse on the floor at home and go to sleep. A man named Robert Faust started to court Rosada and the two fell in love. They married on June 27, 1945. They had their first child, Rosalee, on April 11, 1948.

Robert was as devoted to his family as Rosada. One day, he heard that there were good jobs in Chicago and Robert decided to move the family up north. Robert got a job as a crane operator in Cicero, Illinois. He worked difficult hours, getting up at 4AM to go to work and returning home around 2PM. However, Rose would wake up with him every morning to make him coffee and breakfast, and to see him off. He also attended night school three days a week to earn his GED.

Robert’s work put food on the table for Rose and their ten children: Rosalee, Robert, Mandy, Bernice, Regina, Jimmie, Clara, Mary Ann, Timothy, and Charles. In fact, Rosada never had to work a day in her life after she met Robert. Rose proudly speaks of her legacy: her children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren, and even her great-great grandchildren. When asked about her top three satisfactions in life, she mentions her husband, her children, and giving to others.

The best thing about being the age she is now is being able to rest as much as she would like, whereas the worst thing about being her age is being ill “all the time,” as she put it. Conclusion Rosada claimed to enjoy participating in the life review. The exercise was certainly more valuable for me, helping to better appreciate my grandmother and the life she has lived. She has been the foundation of our family.

What she told me about her childhood illustrates the tremendous generational differences. In just the span of three generations, social norms have changed dramatically. For example, most people.