Joe is one of our newest residents here at RiverCourt Residences. He enjoys music, dancing and socializing with all the other residents so far since moving in a couple months ago. His other hobbies include watching tv, comedies, and true crime (which is a new passion of his.) Joe has traveled all over the world, but his favorite place that he has visited is Europe. As he is of Italian heritage, Italy and specifically Rome and Naples were some of his absolute favorite vacation spots. One of his biggest accomplishments in life was when he won a scholarship to get into college as a Civil Engineer. His biggest achievement though, was getting married and having kids, he states. His best advice that he got from his mother was to think before you do things, and he stands by that motto to this day. We welcome Joe to RiverCourt and hope he enjoys his time here. 

Kelly is one of our newest employees at RiverCourt Residences, starting her position of Reflection’s director on January 19th of 2022. However, Kelly has been here since 2020 where she started her work at RiverCourt working Per diem. She got in to her field when her husband sadly became ill with cancer, in which Kelly was working as a CNA at the time. Since her husband was not able to return back to work, Kelly decided to go to school to work in a field that she loves and to make more money to support him. She has been working for over 30 years in her field and as a nurse for 14. Kelly was born January 6th 1969 in Shirly Massachusetts and grew up in Billerica Massachusetts. Her favorite part about working at RiverCourt is helping the residents in any way and making their days just a little bit brighter. Kelly has been married to her husband for 28 years and has to grown boys. Her oldest son is expecting his first child in September of 2022 and she can’t wait. Her favorite hobbies include cooking, baking and walking.

St. Patrick’s Day, or the feast of St. Patrick is a cultural and religious celebration held on the 17^th of march. The date of the 17^th was originally the death date of Saint Patrick who died in c. 461, who was the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official holiday in the early 17^th century and is usually observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church.

Celebrations include the wearing of the color green, usually accompanied by the Shamrock, drinking (especially a pint of Guinness,) and boiled meals. In fact, St. Patrick’s Day is the most internationally celebrated holiday of any national festival celebrated. Even though it is a widely celebrated event, there is many criticisms for the holiday becoming an over commercialized holiday and fostering celebrations that are negatively stereotypical to the Irish population.

In Ireland, they were already celebrating St. Patrick’s Day beginning in the 9^th and 10^th centuries. The day became a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics because it was placed on the universal liturgical calendar in the catholic church. In 1903 St. Patrick’s Day became an official public holiday in Ireland due to the Bank Holiday Act of 1903. This was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by an Irish member of Parliament named James O’Mara.

The First St. Patrick’s parade took place in 1903 in Waterford. The week of St. Patrick’s was soon then declared Irish Language Week by the Gaelic League in Waterford. The Parade began at the Gaelic League on George St. and ended in People’s Park where the public was addressed by the mayor and other dignitaries. All businesses in Waterford were closed for the Holiday, except for those marching in the parade.

The first official state sponsored St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin happened in 1931 and only three have been canceled due to health and safety reasons since then. As a consequence, to the pandemic, in both 2020 and 2021, all scheduled St. Patrick’s Day festivities created by the state were canceled. Instead, they have learned to celebrate by doing virtual events and will continue to do so till it is safe to convene again in the future.

Practicing Wellness while in a stressful situation

Self-care morning and night

Doing at the most 15 minutes of self-care day and night can increase your wellbeing, especially in these stressful times. Whether that’s cuddling with a pet, doing a skin care routine, drinking a cup of coffee or listening to some music, basically anything that brings you peace and happiness. Even if you only have 5 minutes in a day to take a second and breathe, it is always worth it.

Breathing for stress relief

Taking a minute or two a day to stop and take a deep breathe is another full proof way to release stress and relax. There is a method of breathing called 4-7-8 breathing where you breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 7 and release the breath for 8 counts for at least four times. Doing these 4 or more times a day is guaranteed to slow down your heart beat and relax the body to ensure a less stressful day.

Moving and Stretching

Getting up and moving around a couple times a day at least can help release stress and nerves throughout the day. It also helps to boost immunity and keep yourself healthy when that might not always be possible. Going outside for 15 minutes of fresh air can help give you vitamin D and just taking notice of the world can help.