Day 355: Spending Time with My Friend in Hospice Care

Today is Wednesday, the day I have dedicated to making a volunteer visit to My Friend through Hospice.
Last week was a very difficult visit; today was wonderful!  When I arrived at the nursing home, I could see a concert pianist in the adjacent reception/recreational area playing beautiful music for the residents who gathered to listen.  I glanced the group, searching for my Friend, but she was not there.  As I headed to her room, I looked further down the hall and there she was, sitting upright in her wheel chair, all dressed, alert and ready for the day.  I asked if she would like to join the concert and she made it clear that she would (my first small victory!) by nodding and pointing in the direction.  I sat with her, and watched her cry as she was clearly moved by the beautiful music.  Perhaps she played the piano at one time?  I'll never know. But just seeing her engage in this event was so special and heart warming.  After about a half hour, she was struggling to say something, so I asked if she wanted to leave and she seemed to say "yes", so I wheeled her to a quiet corner and talked, and talked, and talked to her some more.  She held eye contact with me a lot and even said my name!  I'm absolutely sure of it!!  She can't say much even though she is clearly thinking a lot.  She tried to tell me something about being a painter.  I just kept reminding her that "I'm trying so hard to understand, please be patient and hopefully I'll soon know what you are trying to communicate."  After about 1 1/2 hours, I was leaving and the nursing aides came over to get ready to bring My Friend to lunch.  And then here's what happened.  I stood and said good by, and thanked her for letting me visit with her for so long.  And she reached for my hand and tried so hard to speak and then finally found the words, belting out "Thank You".  I gave her a hug.  Walked out the door.  And then cried a few tears of joy!
I realize each hospice visit will be different, but now that I've experienced both ends of the spectrum in just two visits, I would imagine everything in between just might be okay.

Day 354: The Blessing of Grandparents at Easter and Always

During the Easter Season which is upon us, our church seeks contributions to help purchase the abundance of beautiful Lilly flowers that adorn the altar and welcome entry on Easter Sunday.  Any individual who makes a donation to this effort is welcome to request a prayer for a "special intention" that the St. Theresa Ministry Team will be sure is prayed for by the parish in the upcoming weeks.  Most commonly, prayers are asked in memory of  lost loved ones or for the improved health of someone very ill.  Although we could certainly make a long list of lost or ill loved ones, Paul and I have chosen to make our special intention be for our long-lost grandparents.  We were both blessed to have known all four of our grandparents, which is indeed a rare gift.  And perhaps even greater a gift, I was able to get to know Paul's Grandpa and Nana Schwey, and he met my Nana Keefe as well as my Grammy and Grandpa Rinck. We have shared many wonderful memories and stories of time spent growing up with these remarkable individuals who gave us the ultimate gift.....four amazing parents that have shared in the lives of each of our children, making all of our lives richer in only the ways that loving grandparents do through the generations.  So today we made our contribution and chose our grandparents to be our "special intention"; Jack and Bertha Keefe, Albert and Alice Rinck, Henry and Sarah Schwey and David and Gussie Cutler, of whom I am sorry to say that we do not have a picture to share.  Jack Keefe, top left; Henry and Sarah Schwey, top right; Bertha Keefe, lower right; Albert and Alice Rinck, lower left.

Day 353: Remembering Aunt Dianne

Hello, Patrica here. March is not only the month that we remember the birthday of our beloved Marie, but also the month we remember the loss of a dear aunt, Paul's godmother, Dianne Schwey Richman.  Aunt Dianne was such a special person we were all privileged to know....a remarkable mother, aunt, twin, sister, daughter and friend. She passed away from cancer in March of 2004, spending her final days at home with her adoring, devoted  and loving family.  Aunt Dianne, her wonderful husband Eddy and their two beautiful sons, Mark and Jeff, were such a pleasure to visit with on our trips to Portland during the 80's and 90's to see Paul's relatives.   We have such fond memories of our travels north to visit with the Richmans and Aunt Judy and Uncle Abe, Aunt Rita and Uncle Eddie, Aunt Helen and Uncle Harvey, Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Hy, and all the terrific cousins. They always made our family feel so welcome and loved.  Aunt Dianne and Uncle Eddie seemed especially smitten with my children, as they treated Bianca, Olivia and Sophia as though they were their own ....showering them with love, affection, visits to Boston and of course, many unnecessary but very much appreciated gifts.  Upon Dianne's untimely passing, she so passionately declared that her beautiful collection of dolls would be left to Bianca and Olivia. We were thrilled to be thought of as worthy of her prized treasures. To honor Dianne's passing, her son Jeff and his awesome partner Bill (with whom I have way too much fun with at Seder's and dance way too crazy with at weddings!) established a Dianne Schwey Richman Memorial Fund at Clark University, the college where they met, studied and worked.  Such a beautiful gesture. Because Aunt Dianne was a tireless advocate for children with special needs,(she was co-founder of Parents of Learning Disabled Students), her family created this memorial  fund at Clark to dedicate the monies to support future Clark students who have special educational needs.  We were happy to contribute in 2004, and today, eight years after her passing, we are happy to again honor Aunt Dianne and her family with a small donation to the Memorial Fund that honors both her namesake and humanitarian efforts.  Why again, 8 years later?  Honestly, as this year long blog comes to a close this month, we wanted to be sure to acknowledge all the love and connection we feel for our entire extended family in Portland.  We are blessed to have/had all of them in our lives.

www.clark.edu

Day 352: NOLA!

Hey all!! It's Olivia here and I'm back from my spring break service trip in New Orleans!! I had an absolutely wonderful time!

Day One: Sunday, March 4th
We had to meet at 4:30am to catch a shuttle to BWI Airport. I had a group dinner the night before and finally finished packing around 11pm, so waking up at 3:30 was a struggle, but we all made it to the shuttle and off we went! We had a connecting flight in Ft. Lauderdale, and I wished I had enough time to stop by Nannie and Indy, but I was thinking of them! We got to New Orleans early afternoon, and arrived at our housing location: Common Ground Relief (CGR), in the Lower Ninth Ward. This organization began in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina and was one of the first responders to rebuilding, fundraising, and medical care. CGR has a model home next door that we stayed at, but we ate breakfast and dinner with the organization leaders. A group of girls from James Madison University in VA also stayed in the house with us and arrived later that night. After we settled in, off we went to adventure! First we went to New Orleans City Park, which is sooo beautiful! The landscape was so green and the gardens were so pretty. We also went to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter: incredible!! We had dinner at Cafe Beignet, where I had gumbo and a beignet, which was delicious! We headed back to CGR for a nice long sleep. Unfortunately, I struggled with my allergies ALL week, and I was taking antihistamines every 24 hours, which helped some, but it was still a struggle as my sinuses and nose were stuffy the majority of the time!
Day Two: Monday, March 5th
Today was our first work day! We got up and had breakfast by 8. We went to the Audubon Lousiana Nature Center, where we worked on wetland restoration. We learned that with every mile of wetlands, the wave surge decreases by 1 foot. Most of the wetlands have ruined, and the saltwater from Lake Ponchartrain killed a lot of the wildlife. It also brought in a foreign plant species, the Chinese Tallow. This plant is extremey fast growing and one tree sprouts over 100,000 seeds. These trees were everywhere! They can be cut, but a special chemical has to be sprayed on it 30-60 seconds after its cut or else it will continue to grow. We spend the whole day cutting the tallow, from the size of small plants to trees! We also went grocery shopping for snacks for the week, and ended up at Walgreens. Where Google Maps said there was a grocery store, it was nowhere to be found. Apparently, the flooding moved the stores, but Google hasnt updated the maps since the hurricane. The man we talked to shared that when he returned from his evacuation, he had to keep guns on him at all times, for alligators and wild boars would run around attacking people. He said, "Alligators can run up to 35mph, so if you ever need to run away from one, run in a zigzag pattern!" Haha good to know! Later at night we went to tour the St. Louis Cathedral with the University of San Diego, in Jackson Square. It is the oldest continuing cathedral in the US. We had a special tour, so we went up to the bell towers at the tippy top of it and could see a beautiful view of the Square and the Mississippi River through a small vent in the rickety wooden walls. We also got to hold the chalices that Popes Benedict and John Paul II gave to the cathedral. I learned that archbishops and bishops from the cathedral that have passed away are buried under the altar.

Sanding-I'm in the back in the purple shirt

Day Three: Tuesday, March 6th
Today we spent part of the day doing construction work. We helped sand down sheetrock! This house was a "double home", meaning the porch had two doors on each side for two seperate familites. We almost finished both houses, so we spent the majority of the day there. We spent the night in, talking and playing a game called "Mafia". It was a relaxing night, and we got to sleep early.
Day Four: Wednesday, March 7th
We had another day of environmental work. We went to a nursery and planted cyprus trees and redbud trees. We must have planted 200 trees! At night, we saw a lecture about immigration in New Orleans. It was really interesting!!
Day Five: Thursday, March 8th

An abondoned house, still with the "X"
on the door stating date inspected, #dead
etc. 

Me painting!

This must to have been the worst and best day of the trip!! We painted a house for an older couple and their three year old grandaughter. The original color of the house was the color of our house, and we painted it a salmon pink color. The man was so adorable! Every five minutes or so he would ask if we wanted water, and he kept thanking us for our work. I was talking to him individually and he said "I'm a preacher myself, and I keep saying that God will help us all. And God brought you guys to me!" I said I was happy to be there, and he responded with, "Well, then God Bless You! God bless you, your parents, you got any brothers and sisters? (I nodded) God bless them too!" He was so sweet and appreciative of our help. Unfortunately, we had a day planned in the city and had to leave early, but it was a great morning/early afternoon! We went back to CGR and quickly showered, as we had a tour at a museum exhibit called "Katrina and Beyond". It was all about the hurricane and why the floods happened, and shared some peoples stories. It was fascinating, but so sad! This is where my day went downhill: I was in the museum bathroom, and as I was leaving my purse fell and I picked it up and I whacked my head against the latch to the door. It was one of those hits you feel through your whole body. It swelled up in a second (literally) and I walked out of the stall my friend screams, "its growing! you need ice, now!" Everyone in my group was confused as to how I could hit my head that hard, but I was too! I went with my leader to a nearby restaurant where they gave me a bag of ice, which helped, but I still have a bump on my head, and I've have a headache since the accident. My friend was nice as he offered to help me find a pharmacy for advil, and it eased the pain a little. I don't think I have a concussion, but I've been keeping a close watch just in case. Anyway, we went to the French Quarter again and did some shopping, which distracted me a bit. I got a fun Mardi Gras mask and a I Love NOLA shirt. At night, we went to a blobk party where the girls from USD were staying. They stayed in a house of Sisters, and they were so cute! A few of them reminded me of Nana and Nannie. The party was fun, and I got to meet with the Indian Chief of Mardi Gras! He makes his own costumes by hand, and they are beautiful! It was a fun night, I really just wanted to get some sleep. As soon as I got back to CGR, I fell asleep!

Brad and Ellen!!!!

Day 6: Friday March 9th

A port near a levee

Today, CGR didn't have any plans for us! They told us we could have a free day, so we used the time to our advantage. We went to another water source that overflowed and walked along the levee. We also said goodbye to the Sisters, and we actually hope to be housed with them next year during this trip. In addition, we saw a Food Co-op, full of organic, healthy food. Yum! We went to the Loyola New Orleans campus too, which was beautiful! The highlight of the day was seeing Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres!!! Brad started the organization "Make It Right", where he's building 150 eco friendly, structurally sound, roof-escapable homes in the Lower Ninth Ward. There was a fundraiser that week, so he came by to work on some houses and see the progress. He was showing Ellen around, but we got to talk to them! We first saw Ellen across the block and she waved, but we ran over and she told us to give her 5 minutes and she'd come down and talk to us. She's so sweet, and thought it was wonderful the work we were doing. Brad did too! We ended the day at Cafe Beignet/Bourbon Street, and had dinner at a local restaurant, Parkway Bakery. I ate alligator!! Well, it was a smoked alligator sausage, so it was pork meat and gator meat in a casing, but it was still alligator. And it was sure yummy! Tasted like chicken!
Day 7: Saturday, March 10th
We had a early start, as we went to a farmer's market and then to the airport to Baltimore!

The group!
(If you zoom in you can see my bump...)

For more info about CGR, visit www.commongroundrelief.org.

Day 351: Epilepsy Foundation Donation

Patricia here.  Savers stores and the Epilepsy Foundation New England Donation Centers have teamed up to convert donated clothing and household items into cash. The sale of the all the collected items to a company called Savers, Inc (there is one located near us in Framingham) generates revenue for Epilepsy Foundation  programs that support families living with this awful medical condition.  So whenever we are solicited to contribute a donation, we are happy to fill a bag with assorted items worthy of resale, and leave it on the front porch for that early morning pick up.
www.epilepsyfoundation.org

Day 350: Muscular Dystrophy Campaign in Florida

Patricia here.  Greeting from Boyton Beach Florida where Bianca and I are having a wonderful, albeit too short, visit with Nannie.

One of my favorite sayings of Nannie's is "if you live long enough......" which she uses whenever the seemingly impossible happens.  Which happens a lot these days!!  Well... today I lived long enough to help my 83 years young mother-in-law find a gorgeous, totally elegant and fab ensemble for her first grandchild's wedding, and as soon as we were out of the bridal boutique, we headed over to, ahem,  a lovely Wendy's fast food restaurant...!... the first time I've been in a Wendy's in my 50 years!  Aside from the pleasure of Nannie, Indie and Bianca's company, my favorite part of Wendy's is that they were "selling shamrocks" to support Muscular Dystrophy.  Definitely worth the visit to contribute to this most serving cause.....beautifully working muscles are a beautiful thing.

www.MDA.org     

Day 349: American Diabetes Association

My American Diabetes Association Package came yesterday and today, I sat down and wrote the "Dear Neighbor" letters to 12 of the neighbors. As I read through the info included, I read that 1 out of 13 Americans are affected by this disease. The one person who comes to my mind is Buppa's twin brother, Allie who had complications from this disease. For him, I am happy to assist in this campaign. I also noticed that this year, Cary's Sugar Free Syrup is matching donations which will be a great help to the program. Bruce Rd hasn't responded too generously in the past, but I hope this year will be different and we will make our suggested amount.

diabetes.org/support