We went to the big grand opening of the new facility at Libbie's Place yesterday. It's a very nice renovated house near the sponsoring Moody Methodist church. The Chamber of Commerce was there to cut a ribbon with those monster scissors. Our friend Stacy was doing the catering. We bought a very cute little craft item called a Fit that the clients had been working on. Some yarn gathered in the center with those little plastic eyes glued on. Reminded me of Cousin Itt on The Addams Family. When you are feeling stressed out, all you have to do is grab your little Fit and throw it. Get it? Throw a fit. I love it. As a further fund raiser they were selling plastic Easter eggs with secret prizes inside. All the ones we got had Hershey's kisses, but some of them had keys to very nice donated door prizes. Great idea.
Seems like just yesterday we were going to the … well, the big grand opening of Libbie's Place. Dad was one of the very first people to go, back when they opened up in a wing of Moody Methodist church. I remember us walking around with Alice the director, getting the tour. We were desperately looking for someplace for Dad to go where he would be safe and have some things to do, and Mom would have a break from the incredible stress she was under as the primary caregiver for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. Libbie's Place was exactly what we were looking for. They had a nurse on staff. They did all kinds of activities. And most importantly of all, they showed Dad incredible respect. He was The Captain to all of them. I remember that he beamed at all the attention. He was loved.
Now Mom doesn't have Alzheimer's. She does have some dementia, some issues with memory, though. And our stress level around the house is nowhere near what Mom was going through with Dad. But there are a few things Mom really needs that she is just not getting. Number one on the list is exercise. She hated water therapy. She has hated being in the water her whole life. I know. That's strange for a BOI who grew up on a sandbar and married a guy who made his living taking people deep sea fishing. Libbie's Place has a regular plan of chair exercise in the morning. Then in the afternoon they have various levels of walking. Some simply "do laps" up and down the hall. Others walk over to the church's gym and walk around the indoor track. So exercise was the big draw for us with Mom.
The other thing we were hoping for was kind of an intangible. Mom has always been a highly social individual. She loves being around people. Whenever someone comes to the house, or when she walks into church, it's like a light bulb flashes on. She brightens up. She sits straighter. She smiles more. She engages. And going to Libbie's Place inspires that outlook on life in her as well. She wakes up more easily on Libbie's Place mornings. She anticipates the interaction with excitement. Who will be there today? What will we be having for lunch? Will there be some entertainment?
Finally, Mom has always been a doer. She has been the one who took care of things. She was the one everyone else turned to. Red Cross volunteer. Cub Scout den mother. PTA president. Friends of Moody Gardens. At Libbie's Place she will have a chance to … do. Even if it's just something simple, like making the "Throw a Fit" things at the grand opening.
Mom's not done yet.
Psalms 131:1-2 says, "My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me."
Father, thank you for my Mom. And thanks for calling the folks at Libbie's Place to be ministers to a very special group of people. Amen.
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