Spent the day with my Mom today......as some of you may know, she is living in an Assisted Living Center called Mayberry Gardens. I love that its called Mayberry....just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that she may run into Opie or Andy Taylor at any time. It makes me nervous that she might run into Barney, tho.......
At one point today, I was helping her out of her wheelchair when she got to chuckling........which got me chuckling....and then the aide started chuckling. At some point during the chuckling, I asked her what we were chuckling about....... She said my helping her out of her wheelchair reminded her of the time several years ago when I was helping our friend Hazel out of her wheelchair and into her nursing home bed. She then turned to the aide and said, "My Liz is NO nurse, you know".........and then proceeded to tell me I needed to Blog about this.......soooooooooo, here ya go, Mom.....I'm so proud my Mom knows what a Blog is........
About 12 years ago, I used to have lunch each Friday with a sweet old lady named Hazel Howard from our church who was in a local nursing home. Now, Hazel and her husband Lee were the teachers of the Primary age class when I was about 7-8 years old and the coolest teachers ever. They didn't have any kids of their own, so that automatically made them cooler.....but I remember Lee had made this super awesome airplane that flew across the room each time you brought a mission offering. Hazel was about 4'10", smile permanently attached to her face (again....could it be cause she had no children?? I'm just saying......) and had a nice round belly that kinda made her look pregnant. Lee had died several years before Hazel entered the nursing home and I know she had to be lonely, but she never showed it. She had a quick wit about her that always kept you on your toes and her mind was as sharp as a tack.
One day after having a nice nursing home lunch, we did our normal "tour" around the home, visiting with her friends and racing down the hall in her wheelchair and returned back to her room. She was tired and needing a nap, so she asked me to help her out of her wheelchair and into the bed. Well folks, like my Mom always says, "I am NO nurse".....and this was WAY WAY WAY out of my comfort zone....I just knew I would drop her, so I begged her to let me get a nurse. She said, "Nahhh.....we don't need a nurse.....I'll tell you exactly what to do and it'll be easy". You know that little bug in your head that yells instructions to you like "DON'T TO IT" or "YOU'RE MAKING A MISTAKE" or "YOU'RE NO NURSE.....", well, I was hearing the Bug screaming at me full force. But Hazel insisted and obviously had more confidence in me than the bug, so I agreed.
I got her out of the wheelchair, turned her around and lay her gently on the bed. I was so proud that I hadn't dropped her and actually made it from Point A to Point B successfully that I was thinking "Well, HUH, maybe I could be a nurse!" That was until I noticed her head was in the middle of the bed and her feet were hanging off the end. She was no where near the top of the bed. Geezzzzz.....well, my little 4'10" friend looked so ridiculous laying on the bottom half of the bed that she and I both got to laughing so hard we about got the hiccups. I believe she then said, "Ok Liz, you're NO nurse.....call the aide."
My Hazel lived a few more months before passing away there. She was loved by so many many people and will always have a piece of my heart. She is sleeping peacefully now and I will never forget one of the last things she ever said to me. A couple days before she died, she told me, "They have new nurses here now, Liz....I think they are from Australia......and they are so beautiful and attentive to me."
Funny thing, though; there were no new nurses..........
Sleep tight, dear Hazel.....
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6 comments:
Oh Liz, I just loved this story. So sweet. And how neat to see a pic of you and your mom here. I need to go see her when I'm in Dallas next time. I too remember the Howards well and remember the airplane that was in the primary class room on the wire. I even remember the little story they'd say about putting your money in and it would go over seas to help the missionaries as it was pushed along the wire it was hooked too etc... They must have had that airplane up there for years, because it was also there when my brothers Billy and Gary were in there too, and Billy is 6 yrs older than me. I hadn't thought about all that in a long time. Do you remember the covered wagon seat on their front porch? And Billy use to race Mr. Howards go-cart at the Bubble Gum Bowl race track when I was an itty bitty thing. Such good memories. Keep your stories and pictures coming, I just love reading and seeing it all. I think you missed your calling girly, you should have been a writer !!! ( unless you are one and I didn't know about it ! )
Denise
Without a doubt, your most beautiful blog, but you had to know Hazel to truly appreciate it.
I love you.
Debbie
I'm shedding a couple of tears right now as I remember Hazel. In addition to knowing them from church, lLee and Hazel lived in our neighborhood and Lee groomed our poodle for many years. My mother once bought some antique furniture from them. In fact, she still has the fainting couch.
Your Mom's hair looks so pretty in the picture. I'm glad she's happy in Mayberry! How does your Dad get along at home without her? Must be hard on them.
You are so good to so many people Liz. I am imagining the stars that will be in your crown!
Julie
What a super story...sends chills down your
spine. Your Mom is a very lucky lady having
daughters like you and Debbie...and I like the
sense of humor...sure makes a difference.
I love you all so much.
ant ellie
very sweet, Liz
Jacquetta
Hi Liz, I loved this blog about your Mom and Hazel Howard!!! It brought back sweet memories. When we lived in Dallas, we used to go to their house almost every Sabbath afternoon and have popcorn and see the latest ceramics they had made. We still have some of those. THey were both very special people and I remember that airplane, too!! Hope you're doing well. Sammie
P.S. I always enjoyed your Mom, too. So sweet!!
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