Read Gerri's Leaf Story
ON THE PATH...
thoughts along the way
To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things. Kigen Dogen
A couple of weeks ago at a family gathering, my friend Alexis blurted out a story to me. I stopped what I was doing and paid attention to what she was saying. She told me how her Grandma Helen always loves to go to the bingo hall and play bingo every night. Ryan, Alexis’ cousin had been taking her to bingo many times. It was her favorite thing to do in the whole world. Grandma continually asked Alexis to take her to bingo but she never did. One time Grandma Helen even had tears in her eyes as she pleaded with Alexis to come play bingo with her. Alexis finally agreed to go with her that night. As they played bingo, she could see the big smile on her Grandma’s face as they shared this special time together. Alexis relaxed into the game and found that she actually enjoyed being there with her Grandma. She had an awareness that night. She realized that it’s not about the bingo games or whether Grandma wins or loses, it’s about spending time with Grandma. Your imagination is your preview to life’s coming attractions. Albert Einstein The other day my daughter Theresa and I were talking. She told me that Grandma Magee had recently had a stroke that had affected her right side. She was my former mother-in-law. We have always been close and I’ve known the entire family since I was 14-years-old. So our friendship goes way back. I’ve always called her Mom. She taught me different ways of cooking including Southern style. She delighted in decorating her home and I picked up some of her creative ideas throughout the years. I loved the way she did things around the house. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met. Her heart is pure. Theresa mentioned that she was going to visit Grandma at the rehab center on Saturday. They had created time shifts so Grandma wouldn’t be alone. I told Theresa I would go with her and we could all spend the day together. The idea sounded good. The next day I spent time meditating on this and visualized the entire day. I’d never been to the rehabilitation center before but I had a sense of what I wanted the day to be like. Grandma Magee loved picnics. What fun it would be to have one with her! As I began to think about the picnic, I started the scenario in my mind; the wicker picnic basket, red and white checked tablecloth with matching napkins and colorful plates. I planned a simple picnic lunch with lots of goodies for the three of us. That night, I packed up all the things I had envisioned and spent the night at Theresa’s house. We were up bright and early, jumped in the car and were on our way! Join us as we share the day with Grandma Magee. When we arrived, Grandma was having breakfast in a beautiful room. The sun was streaming in brightly through the windows and french doors. When she saw me she exclaimed, “Gerri!” with a big smile on her face. She knew Theresa was going to be there but was very surprised to see me there also. She looked really good as we helped her with her breakfast. We had brought her two blue and green star-shaped helium balloons. We tied them on her wheelchair and told her she was a star. She loved it! After breakfast we went back to her room. The wallpaper looked familiar. She told me it was the exact design of wallpaper she had used on the walls in her last house. It was white with blue roses. She had a bedspread, wallpaper and curtains all matching in the same pattern. She felt comfortable in this homey environment. It was designed and decorated to resemble a bed and breakfast. Grandma told me that she felt like she was at a hotel. Later we went to physical therapy with her. Every time she completed a task Theresa and I would applaud and shout out “hooray.” The physical therapist said this was a first for someone to get applause and hooray’s from family members. She said it encouraged Grandma to go on. Grandma’s right arm and leg were affected by the stroke, but not her speech. I got her a small exercise ball for her to use to strengthen her hand. We went back to the room and Grandma rested for awhile. Then, guess what? It was time for lunch! We took the picnic basket into the lunch room. The sun was still streaming in through the windows although it was bitter cold outside. Grandma loved the wicker picnic basket. I spread out the red and white checkered tablecloth on the table. I told Grandma we know how much she loves picnics, so we brought the picnic to her. The tablecloth looked so happy and festive. Grandma reached out and, touching it, she smiled and commented, “all the comforts of home.” “It’s just for you Grandma!” As we shared this special picnic together, I glanced up and saw her daughter Lori enter the room. Her eyes lit up as she saw the colorful picnic. Grandma felt so special with all four of us there sharing lunch together. We caught up on our lives, recalling other times spent together... a lot of happy “do you remember whens?” I asked Grandma, “Do you remember going shopping with me to Hudson’s Department store in Detroit on the bus many years ago?” She recalled it vividly. We continued reminiscing for awhile, going down memory lane together. Santa Claus stopped by and gently touched Grandma’s face as he made his rounds in the lunchroom. After lunch, we went back to Grandma’s room. The nurse came in and Grandma told her, “this is Theresa, my granddaughter.” Then she turned to me and said, “this is Gerri, my daughter-in-law” She immediately stopped and for the first time ever said, “No, this is Gerri, she is my daughter.” I reached for her hand and held it in mine as we sat silently basking in the beauty of that moment. Later I read her some of my past articles from phenomeNEWS. As I read to her, tears filled her eyes. She was touched. I gave her the biggest, warmest hug ever. Eventually she drifted off to sleep. When Grandma woke up, guess what? It was time to eat again! She wasn’t even hungry but we went to dinner anyway. It was beginning to get dark outside. The outdoor lights illuminated the heavy-falling snow. It was becoming a blizzard outside so we said our good-byes and headed for home. On the way back, we talked about how wonderful the visit was. Grandma had commented earlier about how well everything turned out, and it was just the way I had envisioned it, picnic and all. Despite the blizzard conditions, we felt good inside. As Ram Dass says, “Be here Now” and we were! We all need to take the time while we have the time to share ourselves with those we truly love and care about. Even if it’s a blustery day outside, we can bring the picnic indoors or pull out the bingo cards and celebrate each other. It’s the ordinary days and ordinary moments that mean so much. It’s the simple things that we remember, the things said or done with love. . Theresa commented, “It is good for Grandma that we visited her.” She thought for a moment and added, “How good it was for us that we visited Grandma. It did us all good to be together.” We shared an ordinary day with each other and made it an extraordinary day. One that won’t be forgotten. So glad you came along on our journey to share our extraordinary day with Grandma. Celebrate each other… Celebrate Life... Happy New Year!
A couple of weeks ago at a family gathering, my friend Alexis blurted out a story to me. I stopped what I was doing and paid attention to what she was saying. She told me how her Grandma Helen always loves to go to the bingo hall and play bingo every night. Ryan, Alexis’ cousin had been taking her to bingo many times. It was her favorite thing to do in the whole world. Grandma continually asked Alexis to take her to bingo but she never did. One time Grandma Helen even had tears in her eyes as she pleaded with Alexis to come play bingo with her. Alexis finally agreed to go with her that night. As they played bingo, she could see the big smile on her Grandma’s face as they shared this special time together. Alexis relaxed into the game and found that she actually enjoyed being there with her Grandma. She had an awareness that night. She realized that it’s not about the bingo games or whether Grandma wins or loses, it’s about spending time with Grandma.
Your imagination is your preview to life’s coming attractions. Albert Einstein
The other day my daughter Theresa and I were talking. She told me that Grandma Magee had recently had a stroke that had affected her right side. She was my former mother-in-law. We have always been close and I’ve known the entire family since I was 14-years-old. So our friendship goes way back. I’ve always called her Mom. She taught me different ways of cooking including Southern style. She delighted in decorating her home and I picked up some of her creative ideas throughout the years. I loved the way she did things around the house. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met. Her heart is pure.
Theresa mentioned that she was going to visit Grandma at the rehab center on Saturday. They had created time shifts so Grandma wouldn’t be alone. I told Theresa I would go with her and we could all spend the day together. The idea sounded good. The next day I spent time meditating on this and visualized the entire day. I’d never been to the rehabilitation center before but I had a sense of what I wanted the day to be like. Grandma Magee loved picnics. What fun it would be to have one with her! As I began to think about the picnic, I started the scenario in my mind; the wicker picnic basket, red and white checked tablecloth with matching napkins and colorful plates. I planned a simple picnic lunch with lots of goodies for the three of us. That night, I packed up all the things I had envisioned and spent the night at Theresa’s house. We were up bright and early, jumped in the car and were on our way!
Join us as we share the day with Grandma Magee. When we arrived, Grandma was having breakfast in a beautiful room. The sun was streaming in brightly through the windows and french doors. When she saw me she exclaimed, “Gerri!” with a big smile on her face. She knew Theresa was going to be there but was very surprised to see me there also. She looked really good as we helped her with her breakfast. We had brought her two blue and green star-shaped helium balloons. We tied them on her wheelchair and told her she was a star. She loved it! After breakfast we went back to her room. The wallpaper looked familiar. She told me it was the exact design of wallpaper she had used on the walls in her last house. It was white with blue roses. She had a bedspread, wallpaper and curtains all matching in the same pattern. She felt comfortable in this homey environment. It was designed and decorated to resemble a bed and breakfast. Grandma told me that she felt like she was at a hotel.
Later we went to physical therapy with her. Every time she completed a task Theresa and I would applaud and shout out “hooray.” The physical therapist said this was a first for someone to get applause and hooray’s from family members. She said it encouraged Grandma to go on. Grandma’s right arm and leg were affected by the stroke, but not her speech. I got her a small exercise ball for her to use to strengthen her hand. We went back to the room and Grandma rested for awhile. Then, guess what? It was time for lunch!
We took the picnic basket into the lunch room. The sun was still streaming in through the windows although it was bitter cold outside. Grandma loved the wicker picnic basket. I spread out the red and white checkered tablecloth on the table. I told Grandma we know how much she loves picnics, so we brought the picnic to her. The tablecloth looked so happy and festive. Grandma reached out and, touching it, she smiled and commented, “all the comforts of home.”
“It’s just for you Grandma!”
As we shared this special picnic together, I glanced up and saw her daughter Lori enter the room. Her eyes lit up as she saw the colorful picnic. Grandma felt so special with all four of us there sharing lunch together. We caught up on our lives, recalling other times spent together... a lot of happy “do you remember whens?” I asked Grandma, “Do you remember going shopping with me to Hudson’s Department store in Detroit on the bus many years ago?” She recalled it vividly. We continued reminiscing for awhile, going down memory lane together. Santa Claus stopped by and gently touched Grandma’s face as he made his rounds in the lunchroom.
After lunch, we went back to Grandma’s room. The nurse came in and Grandma told her, “this is Theresa, my granddaughter.” Then she turned to me and said, “this is Gerri, my daughter-in-law” She immediately stopped and for the first time ever said, “No, this is Gerri, she is my daughter.” I reached for her hand and held it in mine as we sat silently basking in the beauty of that moment.
Later I read her some of my past articles from phenomeNEWS. As I read to her, tears filled her eyes. She was touched. I gave her the biggest, warmest hug ever. Eventually she drifted off to sleep. When Grandma woke up, guess what? It was time to eat again! She wasn’t even hungry but we went to dinner anyway. It was beginning to get dark outside. The outdoor lights illuminated the heavy-falling snow. It was becoming a blizzard outside so we said our good-byes and headed for home.
On the way back, we talked about how wonderful the visit was. Grandma had commented earlier about how well everything turned out, and it was just the way I had envisioned it, picnic and all. Despite the blizzard conditions, we felt good inside. As Ram Dass says, “Be here Now” and we were!
We all need to take the time while we have the time to share ourselves with those we truly love and care about. Even if it’s a blustery day outside, we can bring the picnic indoors or pull out the bingo cards and celebrate each other. It’s the ordinary days and ordinary moments that mean so much. It’s the simple things that we remember, the things said or done with love. .
Theresa commented, “It is good for Grandma that we visited her.” She thought for a moment and added, “How good it was for us that we visited Grandma. It did us all good to be together.” We shared an ordinary day with each other and made it an extraordinary day. One that won’t be forgotten.
So glad you came along on our journey to share our extraordinary day with Grandma.
Celebrate each other… Celebrate Life... Happy New Year!
Gerri Magee is director of advertising and public relations and assistant to the editor of phenomeNEWS. She continues to share her thoughts “On The Path” in this column. She can be reached at gerri@phenomenews.com.
