Assisted Living

Today, Big Red and I met up with my sister and went to visit a friend of the family. She is in her mid-eighties, a widow, and is now living in her second assisted living adventure.
I don't know her very well, but she is a really sharp gal. She seems to be having some issues with lonliness and depression. I think a visit from a fiery red headed three year old was good meds.

This is another one of those (didn't have time to do it when I worked posts).

She read to him and at one point we went down to the dining room to get her lunch to bring to her. I'm telling you, Big Red was like Brad Pitt on the red carpet...everyone ogled him and the staff plied him with cookies and juice.

This trip got me thinking about a couple of things.

First, when my nephews were daycare aged and my sister worked, they went to an inter-generational daycare, one of the only of its kind, in Seattle. Why isn't there more of this??? Clearly, this setup is so beneficial to both parties.

Second, her life is a such a stark contrast to my own. It's hard to imagine being alone in that way. It's hard to imagine being at the end of it all. It's hard to imagine not having endless lists of things to do, endless dreams of what's to come, and of course, children who need you (endlessly).

While you ponder that, continue to ponder how many quilts I could possibly have made in eight years. Contest ends tomorrow night at Midnight pacific time. There are only two entries so far and lots of guessin room. Good luck!