Philip Y. Kao PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

was being uttered in their negative reactions could have been put into words: “Why are
you so concerned with my people? Why are you not taking care of your section, your
kin?”
Furthermore, one would think that the holidays, especially Christmas time would reveal
at Tacoma Pastures an interesting window through which to view family visitations, and
various kinship dynamics. Family members did visit their loved ones throughout the
year, but the holidays for the most part did not bring in people or family members from
far away. Rather, it was the regular family members who came in week in and week out
to collect personal laundry who made sure that their loved ones did not miss out on the
holidays. Many of the residents’ sons and daughters decorated their parents’ rooms with
various Christmas window stickers and small multi-coloured Christmas lights. For the
residents who were still mobile and did not require constant medical monitoring, the
holidays meant leaving for a few days to stay with a daughter’s family nearby. For the
residents that could not leave to go to a family member’s house they remained at
Tacoma Pastures. A Christmas party was held for these residents several days before
Christmas day. During the party, residents from the main building and the health and
rehabilitation centre convened for an hour and a half to eat pretzels, and drink canned
beers and wine while listening to a hired husband and wife musical/comedy duo.
The work schedules at Tacoma Pastures are done in such a way that no caregiver has to
work two consecutive Christmases. The major holidays are staggered, so that a caregiver
may have Christmases off on the even numbered years, while another caregiver has
them off on the odd numbered years. In 2010, it was my turn to work on Christmas day,
which was very quiet. During my entire shift from six in the morning to three in the
afternoon that day, I recalled only a handful of family visits, including extended family
and grandchildren. Nothing special happened that day; it was as if Christmas had already
passed, or rather that the party never bothered to show up.
One resident in the centre for health and rehabilitation once said to me when I asked
him about why he was trying to call his brother so much, “Family is about
communication. And appreciation. When you get older we appreciate what parents did
for us, what family did for us. And communication is key for keeping family.”
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