"Hello Dolly" & Mary

Shea & I went to see "Hello Dolly" with Hayley, Min & Cherie and some other friends on Saturday night. I had never seen the movie (I know- I need to rent some of those oldies) so I couldn't tell Shea & Hayley much about it- other than singing the few lines from the old, familiar song. It was such a cute play and luckily, the girls loved it as well. My favorite part of it was not the actual play but the sweet, older woman that I sat next to. Her name is Mary and she was truly the "Dolly" of the night. Working as a nurse for so many years, I have come to realize that there are two types of "geriatric" patients- those that are grumpy & are just waiting to die and those that are so joy filled & bursting with love! Mary was such a blessing to sit next to and such a joy! She had such a sweet spirit as she told me that when her nephew came in that he had a bee in his hair. When he flicked it off his head, it landed on her and the bee stung her! She had the little bee stinger in her program. (I still have the bee stinger in Shea's baby book from when she got stung!) I explained that I was a nurse and just took a peak at it to make sure she was not allergic, etc... and I told her how to care for it when she got home. I used to keep a bit of baking soda in my purse for just those kind of emergencies but decided against it with how many drugs are in this world. That would be the last thing I would need is to be stopped and have the police officer think I had "coke" in my purse! (You make a paste with water & baking soda for bee stings, spider bites, etc...and it draws the poison out) Anyway, Mary & I became special friends. She told me that I had a very special personality and that she thought I was very unique! I gave her my business card with my phone number and told her to call me. I want to take Mary to lunch. She was so excited that you would have thought I gave her a winning lottery ticket! There is something to be said for older people who are still so full of joy and who love life! I feel like we can all learn something from them and their positive attitudes!

Life is what we make it; always has been, always will be.
Grandma Moses

It is not length of life, but depth of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson