This and That

This and That
I'm so excited to be going to the beach with Rob. We'll leave in the morning as soon as he gets here. They're calling for thunderstorms and very hot weather. We'll have fun no matter what.

I can't believe I'm sitting here eating potato chips.

I visited my parents after work and stayed till my mom was in bed. I'm amazed at the level of care and love that my mother receives. She, in turn, really cares about the people who work in her 'home'. She knows everyone's name and treats the staff and especially the caregivers like they're her real friends. They are her friends. She's genuinely interested in knowing about their lives. We spent a lot of time tonight with Jackie, one of the med-techs. She's from Kenya and has lived in the states for a year. She works 3 jobs and is paying for her brother and sister to attend university in Kenya. As she was leaving my mother's room, my mother said, 'you forgot something'. Jackie asked what it was, and my mother replied, 'my kiss'. Jackie reminded her she always comes back before she gets off work to kiss her. How sweet is that? Jackie was in the hall when I was leaving. I thanked her for caring so much for my mother. I asked her if I could give her a hug. I hugged her and gave her a kiss.

Sometimes I do silly things like this when I have a client who has a lot of hair taken off:

One of my favorite clients, Ruth McHenry, died this week just a few months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. She was 83. I had been doing Ruth's hair for over 20 years, and for the last few years she came in every Friday to have it styled. It was always so inspiring to me to see an older person who was so 'with it' both physically and mentally. She regularly drove to Atlantic City. She went to the diner almost every day for breakfast or lunch. She lived alone and took care of her house. She drove everywhere she needed to go. In my salon she greeted so many of my co-workers by name. In turn, everyone knew she was Miss McHenry. She never let me give her a discount! She reminded me of things I forgot. She picked up our conversations where we left off from Friday to Friday, not forgetting a single detail. I shared freely with her about everything. Although she was my father's age, she was like a grandmother to me. Ruth was from Germany, and once told me she thought of me as the daughter she never had. She said, 'I always wanted a Heidi'. We were very close. Ruth's husband died about 6 years ago after a very lengthy illness, and I think I helped her through that time. In the end, she had two nephews (her husband's), and a niece in Germany. She had an old neighbor who helped her out with doctor's appointments after her diagnosis, and who visited her every day (and kept me from seeing her in the end). There were only about 8 of us at her funeral, and I was the only one who spoke. She made a difference in my life, and I won't forget her. I wanted to write about my relationship with Ruth, because she was important to me.

How's that for some This and That?