Birthday Celebrations
After a morning of opening gifts, reading cards and emails and phone calls from family and friends we went to our son’s house for more celebrations of Mike’s 84th birthday. We enjoyed part of the Homecoming Concert in New York’s Central Park – until it started to rain: a deluge ahead of tropical storm Henri. A delicious Mexican dinner was delivered to the door, and before knew it we needed to head home before dark, stopping at a gas station along the way.
At the end of the evening, when I treated Lani to an icee, a teaspoon of frozen pumpkin puree, and put her to bed in the sunroom, I discovered our Roomba vacuum cleaner in the far corner. How could it possibly get there all the way from its station by the front door? Well, I found the tracks. Somehow, with a mind of its own, it decided it needed to vacuum the house in our absence. A weekend surprise. It traveled through the front office and bathroom, down the hall to our bedroom, through the kitchen to the living room and at the end of the living room through the narrow opening of the baby gate into the sunroom. Where it gave up the ghost. I carried it to the station by the front door and this morning the battery was fully loaded again. I would have loved to see what Lani did all that time. She had the run of the house, and she knows the Roomba and usually dances around it with great interest. I would also like to know what made my vacuum cleaner decide to go to work. It was a pleasant surprise.
On Friday, we celebrated Lani’s 3rd birthday. When we had our morning coffee I sang Happy Birthday to her and gave her a gift: a beehive with three squeaking little bees in it. In the afternoon, when I stood ready to put on her leash for a walk, I sang the birthday song again, and she ran back to the living room and returned with her beehive! Smart dog! I got stuck in my training sessions; I have to learn at the computer what to teach her next, and then do it, ten minutes per day. It takes longer for me to learn how to train than training sessions for her. But it is fun and she is a quick learner. I am in the process of freeing up more time for fun things…I have to remind myself 🙂
Food
Dining is not a pleasure anymore. We now have buffet style dinner every night due to lack of servers. So I pick up our dinners and warm them up in the microwave. The quality has deteriorated as well. The chef sent out a list of things that are not available at all at this time, like lobster and steak, salmon and lemons, and many things are way too expensive. Once a month there is a special dinner for all the residents who have a birthday in that month, and they can bring one guest each. The special fare for the birthday dinners is steak and lobster, but those are not available, so we are wondering what they will come up with today.
Health
Many people’s health is deteriorating. One friend has been in the hospital for weeks now, another was moved from the hospital to Rehab, yet another from Rehab to Hospice. A friend in one of the cottages had a heart attack yesterday, I heard this morning when I picked up breakfast. Is it the heat? The general aging and frailty of our Residents? The complications of Covid? We are wearing masks again and warned not to meet with outsiders; any time now we are expected to be advised to get a booster shot. It is all depressing, especially for people who are single.
This morning, while putting the unclaimed articles of Lost and Found in bags to be donated to Dorcas (a Christian Goodwill Waltonwood is supporting), I noticed Fred, Daisy’s son, walking to the elevator with a cart full of empty crates. The family is busy emptying Daisy’s apartment after she died. I wanted to talk to him, and so I ran the length of the hall, turned the corner and ran into the elevator with my arms outstretched to keep the door open. I made it! After dropping the cart at the fourth floor, we went down together again and he told me they are planning a Memorial service at Waltonwood for his mother in September. The lead singer of his band will sing, and I believe the drummer will participate too. It will be very special. But Daisy was a very special person, and we all miss her. Around here, nobody runs through the halls, just imagine! So I can see the heads turning in my mind’s eye, and hear the voices, asking why is Ronny running?
Oh! I am so glad that I can still run! And that I can still dance! Next week, I will dance in Assisted Living and then in Independent Living. But I’ve got to go now, and practice, because knees and hips do need a refresher course.
May your days be peaceful and happy.
Until next time
Ronny
Thanks for sharing memories and images with us. As I thought about the terror of your early days and your continuing buoyancy of today, I thought of this poem we had to memorize high school English. It has a different meaning for me now.
