BREKENRIDGE VILLAGE
3…2…1… SMILE! Stepping into Tyler’s Breckenridge Village (a community for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities), I’m greeted by eight adults, all dressed in collared shirts and khakis, eagerly awaiting their turn for a photograph. As I shake their hands—each gentle squeeze making me smile—I notice their nervousness. They glance at their house parents for reassurance. At first, it’s awkward, they don’t know where to look, how to stand, or what to do with their hands. But, a request for a simple “smile big!” transforms their anxious faces into the purest forms of joy, and a request for a “pose” always yields unexpected surprises, like a playful stuck-out tongue. Visiting each of the nine houses, excitement fills the air. In house four, Julie beams, exclaiming, “I feel like a movie star!” Another resident tugs my shirt, eager to take me to his room to capture a moment in his favorite rocking chair. But as I take the last group photo in house nine, the mood shifts when Martin candidly says: “Hey April, my dad says his sickness worsened and I asked him if we’re still having our lunch out next week and he said that it’s going to have to be a long time since we can eat again.” My supervisor April whispers to my ears “It’s cancer”. Finishing up, April calls me back, sharing that days like this—when the residents feel like stars—are rare and that they’ll cherish these memories for a long time.
