This afternoon, after I did some volunteering in the office of a place that I have been coming to since December, I walked over to one of the resident's apartment to help a gal who has been on this planet for 97 years. Today, I found her sleeping on the couch as she did not feel well. We chatted for a bit and I found the payment that she needed to make and took care of that for her. It was a very small thing to do for her and I was glad to help.
However, images of her keep floating through my mind since I came home. She has very recently experienced the death of her husband who was 99 1/2. She has been his caregiver for some time, at her 90 something age and now that has come to an abrupt end. She seems lonely when I see her and talk with her and that is what has struck a deep chord within me and I cannot shake it.
In the short time that I have worked with her balancing the checkbook and doing some filing ,it has been so clear just how sharp her mind is to me. She is very savvy about details and yet, emotionally, her spirit has always been an assertive and somewhat dominate, frank and sometimes curt one. Not everyone wants to warm their hands at that fire.
However, I have seen a fragility and vulnerability in the woman who rides her electric scooter to Oliver's for a quick latte'. That woman also graduated from Vassar and has a shrewd understanding of political and social issues. She is alone now though and I find myself worrying about her. None of us really know what life will hold for us and to me, she is one of my mirrors. I have a great desire to understand what the reflection is showing me.
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