I am loving reading these blogs! They're not only a help to us now, but will be very dear to read in the future as we remember the sweet experiences we are having with Hilda.(-:
Visit #1: Friday, October 8th. When I arrived she had her hair newly styled, all dressed up and earrings on, too. (It is her newest fashion statement because all the other women wear earrings.) We were going shopping for a coat for the second time. Kristin had suggested Nordstroms Rack so I decided to try there first. It was the charm! Within 20 minutes we had found and paid for a darling gray wool coat, priced $250, and Grandma paid $79. Since we had gone to so many stores looking for coats the first time, we were both happy at the short shopping trip.
After shopping we had lunch in the dining room which turned out to be the least positive experience I have had there since I started my weekly visits. No, the food was good. But the little lady who joined Grandma and I at the dining table was a most negative person. She's lived there three years and had very little good to say about Coventry. Needless to say, I was anxious to get Grandma out of the dining room, so we took our dessert "to go" and went back to Grandma's apartment.
She wasn't in the mood to do anything, even a drive to see the Autumn leaves. She just wanted me to watch a movie with her, so we settled on the sofa together and watched "Dan in Real Life". I had hoped that watching a movie other than the ones she watches over and over would be a good change for her.
Visit #2: Wednesday, Oct. 13th was a beautiful day and when I arrived she was looking forward to go for a visit. To where? Colleen's office! She said she had not seen where Colleen worked. We wanted to surprise Colleen, so I curled and styled Grandma's hair and we were off. It was a great visit and Grandma seemed to really enjoy herself.
On our drive back to Coventry she said she did not want to go to Relief Society....she had insisted two weeks earlier she didn't want to go even though I was there to go with her. She said she just wanted to go get some chocolate. I told her we would get some chocolate after Relief Society, but she said, no, she didn't want to go. Finally I said, "I'll tell Dave," and she said, "Okay, I'll go to Relief Society." (I found the magic bullet.) I kept my promise and took her to get Hershey bars after Relief Society.
Visit #3: Friday, October 22: When I arrived yesterday it was Friday, so her hair was all styled and cute. She was excited to talk about her grandchildren. First, she loved the visit from Cambria, Marissa and little Peach. She said how adorable that little one was! Then she had a great visit with Chantelle and her little Nathan earlier that morning. They went around Coventry to see all the Halloween decorations and she said Nathan was so cute as he saw them "come to life". She wanted me to see the Halloween card and pictures that she had received from Jenny's family and was so happy about Kristin's news of Grandma's 20th Great-Grandchild due in June.
Eating lunch in the dining room with Grandma is so fun when Jose is a server. He calls out "Hilda!", and she laughs. Then he brings her out her order before she even orders it. She just adores the sweet kindness that he shows her and I have thanked him so much for that.
Getting her to branch out more within the Coventry community was my plan for the afternoon. I had brought my set of dominos and told her we were going to play 'Chicken'. After lunch we went up to the third floor in the Library area where there is a very nice sitting area and a table and chairs by the french doors for natural light. When Grandma heard that we were going to play Chicken, she invited Pamela, the PR Lady, to join us. Her schedule was so busy but she made time for one game with us. While we were playing, a resident named Reva saw us and came to watch. Grandma was in her element, and won all three games! I told Pamela they should add another game day called "Chicken" with Hilda.
Grandma shared something with me last week that I wanted to pass on. She commented on how Harold gets phone calls from his family all the time. I think she loves it when the phone rings. It brings joy to her. I've increased my phone calls since then.
Also, Grandma loves to receive a card. She displays them for all to see. She loves to check her mailbox to see if there is anything there for her. I know that sending her cards during the different seasons, like Halloween right now, would be so appreciated.
And for anyone living in Utah, there is a Halloween Carnival for the Coventry Residents and their families this coming Wednesday, October 27th at 6:30 pm. If you want to eat the chili dinner it is $7 per person. Or you can just come for the carnival, bring the kids in costume and enjoy the activities for a short time. Grandma would love it.
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