Precious day

Today I took the day off (but I'm at my other job right now typing this)....

The nursing home where my mom is had their first ever Walk for Wellness.  Family, friends, volunteers, nursing staff and nearly all the residents took part in a one mile walk, including my mom and me.  The goal was to raise money for new exercise equipment for the Wellness program that they have at the nursing home, which helps residents with strength and balance, enhancing their quality of life.  DH was "supposed to" come too, but he had several health concerns that may or may not have been as troublesome as he made them sound....anyhow, he didn't go.....

When I got there this morning, I could tell it was going to be a "good" day.  I asked my mom if she wanted to go on the walk and she did.  Not only that, but she was ready to get out of her wheelchair and REALLY walk! :-)  (but I told her she could ride!)

It was a warm summer day and everything went off without too many snags.  My mom said it was nice to be outside.  We did the entire walk, then went back to the nursing home for hot dogs, beans and watermelon.  I couldn't believe it, my mom ate the entire hot dog (but only a couple of bites of bun)....and all of her watermelon and a couple of small spoons of beans, too!  I asked her if she was tired and she said "No, this is fun!"

There was a bit of a lull, which was filled by a very talented 14 year old girl who sang songs from many eras--she started off by singing "We Will Rock You", and I wondered about the choice of music for all these elderly folks....then....I noticed....MY MOM WAS SINGING ALONG AND TAPPING HER FINGERS!!!  When she noticed I was watching her and smiling, she said "I don't even know this song!"  I've been smiling all day just from that memory....

We sat for quite a while in the sun, and I frequently asked her if she wanted to go inside, and she didn't.  Then they had an auction of donated "goodies" with a real auctioneer.....my mom loved it, and I loved seeing her so happy....and judging from the prices that some of the donated items brought ($7.00 for 12-packs of pop!), they raised quite a bit of moolah.

I do have to mention that at least twice she said to me, "You've been so nice to me, what is your name again?" :-)
I only minded a little, because it really doesn't matter to me at this point who my mom thinks I am, if I can make her smile, or if I can get her involved with something that she enjoys...

It was a precious day, full of memories, made so much better by the fact that my mom had such a "good" day....