Welcome Home, Mother!

Mother has a new home: Hubbard Hill Retirement Community in Elkhart, Indiana. It is a studio apartment. She is doing amazingly well. Expectations of herself are off the charts: she thinks that she should know how to get everywhere (and that was after 3 hours of living there) and she thinks that she should know everyone's name after meeting them. Silly woman! But that's Mother!

Paula and I spent from early morning hours until 11:30 at night which began last Monday, as we sorted, pitched, weeded, Good Willed, trashed, planned, made decisions, and then started all over again. It was an incredibly exhausting week as we took care of Debra and Mother. Moving one person is exhausting but trying to manage two and remain calm and collected, about wiped us out. Thank God that we had each other along with Keith and Sharon to get everything done. Before Debra moved in, Paula and I had her apartment put together so she could have a warm, cozy and comfortable place to live. Debra is very happy at her apartment in Lakeview Meadows in Battle Creek.

 

Because Tom came to Battle Creek on Wednesday and drove Mother to our house in Goshen for a couple of nights, Paula and I were able to get Debra placed and then we headed to Elkhart to get Mother's apartment organized. We took Mother over on Friday afternoon. She loved it!

 

 

Mother loved the new green bedspread and green couch since that is her favorite color. After taking it all in, she sat down at the piano. It was just as we had expected.

 

(Pictures aren't hung yet)

 

Obviously, we are still in the process of getting everything placed well for Mother. Every day gets a little better. Mother was so fortunate to have a window that looks out over one of the many courtyards. She was thrilled to see trees and flowers again. (Sorry we have a winter to get through.) 

 

This is what she saw when she looked out her window...looking left and then looking right:

 

Mother had lots of company (nurses, aides, housekeeping, and residents) on the first afternoon. It was almost overwhelming but one of her visitors was Phyllis Kauffman. Tom and I have known Phyllis for 40 years. We all went to Central Christian Church together and then we were at Trinity together and now Phyllis and Mother are at Hubbard Hill together. She has been a dear, sweet friend, already, for Mother. So far, I have had every lunch and dinner with Mother but tomorrow, she will do her first lunch without me. She is feeling more comfortable every day. I'll see her in the afternoon.

Phyllis Kauffman visits Mother on her first day at Hubbard Hill

Phyllis, Jeanne Dockery, Mother

 

Mother and Phyllis strike up a friendship

 

Mother told me that Kathy Thies had come for a visit yesterday. She was delighted. I was out running errands and missed her.

 

After services at Trinity this morning, I headed to Hubbard Hill to go with Mother to her first service. It didn't start until 10:30 so it worked out perfectly. It was very nice.

 

(I was tickled to see these photos with the blue chair covers. Everything that you see that is blue, is really GREEN!!!)

 

I just learned that the lady who played the piano for the service, is the sister of my Choir School friend, Eileen Nordgren Hoke Gukenberger!!! What a small world!

 

 

This has been an amazing journey! God has been very busy at our house and I just kind of tagged along. If you had told us that Mother and Debra would be settled in their new "homes" before Thanksgiving, I would have told you that there was no way that that would happen. We were praying for January. This was too good to be true but it was true!

It was good!

It was the answer to many prayers!

 

 

Carol Walbeck
Hubbard Hill Retirement Community
28070 CR 24 W
Room 712
Elkhart, Indiana  46517

Debra Williams
Lakeview Meadows
890 Territorial Road W
# 118
Battle Creek, MI  49015