Less than a month after leaving a career she held for 27 ½ years, Marilyn Gregorski admits she’ll be back to The Meadows Nursing Center in Dallas Township.

“They’ve asked me to help with the Market on the Pond,” she said of the center’s largest fundraising event.

The 71-year-old doesn’t like the word “retirement” and refers to her recent departure from the nursing center as “a leap of faith.”

“Ever since my husband passed away 12 years ago, I live by ‘sink or swim,’” said Gregorski. “I’m going to start building my new life.”

Gregorski left her latest position as director of volunteers on Jan. 1, and she’s enjoying her newfound freedom. Sleeping later, enjoying local culture and spending more time with family and friends are priorities now.

“I think of life as a big circle filled with pie pieces; that was just one of my pieces,” she said of her former position. “I’ve got this chance to smell the roses.”

Gregorski has worked for 30 years in the nursing care field, getting her start at the former Maple Hill nursing home in Lehman Township, an all-female facility with just 24 residents, after raising her two children.

“I was in my 40s at the time and I wanted more of a challenge,” she said.

She became an activities director after taking classes at the Penn State University Wilkes-Barre campus and found her calling.

“I knew right away, it was the right place for me,” she said. “Being with seniors made me so happy. I learned so much. I liked to say I had 24 mothers.”

She joined the staff at The Meadows Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dallas Township in 1983 when it first opened. Over the years, she worked as an activities director, resident and community relations coordinator and volunteer director.

Gregorski was an active part of helping form The Meadows Auxiliary, which provides additional services to residents. When the auxiliary formed a few years after the nursing center opened, Gregorski was amazed by the community’s support.

“People just came,” she said. “The strength and commitment people have to volunteering, and their desire to help, makes our community so unique.”

Gregorski enjoyed spending time with residents, but she also admired the hundreds of volunteers who came through The Meadows’ doors over the years to help.

“It wasn’t work to me,” she said of her position. “I had this sense of fulfillment and I knew I was fortunate because not everybody got to work in a position like that.”

She said volunteers from all walks of life would perform tasks that met their skills and enjoyment. For example, some would help with paperwork, others would enjoy talking to residents and some would utilize their skills such as playing the piano to share with the residents.

“It’s like we’re all cogs in a big wheel and we worked together,” said Gregorski.

The Meadows saw the development of different volunteer programs over the years as well. The teen program formed in 1985 and the pet therapy program started soon after.

“The teens brought a special kind of light to The Meadows,” said Gregorski. “Not all the residents had grandchildren, and it was nice for the teens to be bonding with them.”

Volunteering is something Gregorski hopes to do as she ventures into a new part of her life as a way to “pay it forward” to all those who helped at The Meadows.

“Somebody out there needs you, and there are so many choices you’ll find to give of yourself,” said Gregorski.

She said the benefits of volunteering, such as improved health, self-satisfaction and stronger friendships, outweigh the lack of money received from the work.

“Volunteering is giving of the heart,” she said.