I stopped in to see two elderly women who live in the same residence earlier this week. Unbenownst to me, one was celebrating her 91st birthday that day, and two friends were there to see her. I could tell she was bouyed by their presence and she announced cheerfully that she had been the centre of attention all day.
The other woman turned 90 in June and she is a cheerful soul who is dealing with mild dementia, bright most of the time with moments of vagueness and disorientation. Maybe that is all of us at this time of the year!
She held out her aged hands with a smile on her face, and it took me a moment to realize that she wanted me to see her fingernails. A young woman comes in to attend to their hands and she had painted this woman's nails, not just with some sedate, boring polish but bright blue with snowflakes. Then our member turned her hands over so I could see the piece de resistance -- her thumbnails adorned with tiny perfect snowmen! She laughed and told me that she is the envy of her seven-year-old great-granddaughter.
We then had a more sombre moment as I admired the collage of photos on her wall. I commented on the pictures of her late husband who was in the hospital last Christmas and died a couple of days later. She isn't always clear as to where he is, but she offered "I told him not to die, but he did." It was a poignant moment, and its simplicity spoke to me of the realities of life and death. I came back to my study and looked at the funeral message from last December to see that they had been married 64 years. Does a partner of that duration ever really leave you?
In both cases though, the visits were positive and we expressed our thanks for life and the birth of Christ.
The other woman turned 90 in June and she is a cheerful soul who is dealing with mild dementia, bright most of the time with moments of vagueness and disorientation. Maybe that is all of us at this time of the year!
She held out her aged hands with a smile on her face, and it took me a moment to realize that she wanted me to see her fingernails. A young woman comes in to attend to their hands and she had painted this woman's nails, not just with some sedate, boring polish but bright blue with snowflakes. Then our member turned her hands over so I could see the piece de resistance -- her thumbnails adorned with tiny perfect snowmen! She laughed and told me that she is the envy of her seven-year-old great-granddaughter.
We then had a more sombre moment as I admired the collage of photos on her wall. I commented on the pictures of her late husband who was in the hospital last Christmas and died a couple of days later. She isn't always clear as to where he is, but she offered "I told him not to die, but he did." It was a poignant moment, and its simplicity spoke to me of the realities of life and death. I came back to my study and looked at the funeral message from last December to see that they had been married 64 years. Does a partner of that duration ever really leave you?
In both cases though, the visits were positive and we expressed our thanks for life and the birth of Christ.
Of course her nails would be the envy of her 7 year old great granddaughter. It is very true that seniors and children have a lot in common, they crave attention and to know they matter and want to be heard and noticed. I remember my grandmother saying to my daughter once when they were on the floor playing checkers, "that's ok honey I will play with you... Mommy is busy making dinner and we can keep each other company". She felt needed and knew she was helping and that was so important to her. This same daughter went on to university in Kingston and in her spare time volunteered at the Seniors Home and put together a kit to paint nails for the ladies there. Their favourite colour was bright red and one of our church members donated many items to this kit when she found out what she was doing. David, your story brought back memories of her tales when she came home from school at Christmas, she learned many things from these wise women. They loved to talk about their families and especially their communities where they had been so involved when they were in their prime. I am sure your recent visit meant the world to those ladies.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great addition to my story dmy. There is something intimate and lovingly patient in doing this that I wouldn't have thought of before, never having had my nails done!
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