Crazy Lopez
I met a woman today a strong woman who will be celebrating her 58th birthday on September 2nd. She is a small woman no more then about 5 feet tall but with a big personality. She usually wears a sun hat to shade her brown face from the sun and her hair flows down to her shoulders and is a combination of black and grey. She has more energy then I think I will ever have and she uses her energy to cheer up other people in the nursing home. Yes, Lily has lived in the nursing for over seven months trying to recover from a stroke. But, you would never know she had a stroke judging from the smile that is always on her face and the kind words she shares with everyone. She even feeds the birds on the patio as they call it. The patio consists of a few tables, a few umbrellas to shade the tables somewhat because they lean over to almost a right angle. There are a few flowering plants in the yard and a wall of ivy growing up on one side of the yard and smack in the middle almost is a BBQ pit that has rusted out. That is where Lily puts the bread crumbs from the birds. I don't know where she gets the crumbs she said that is her secret. But, every afternoon she listens for the cawing of the crows and she makes a bird call herself which sort of sounds like a whistle and a moan, something in between that. She waits sometimes to see if any will come and eat her crumbs. More times then not she doesn't wait too long because she has to chat with some of the "residents" whom she calls her friends forever.
Lily wheels herself around in a wheelchair and is never in one place for too long. She picks the purple flowers in the yard and she passes them to her friend, Rose, who likes to keep to herself in her room and doesn't come outside much. I think that is Lily's way of trying to coax her outside for a little sunlight and fresh air. One day Lily says she will come outside. I think that she is right. Lily goes from room to room talking to everyone and always says hello at the very least. She told me today as my mom sat in the sunlight for a little while that she is glad that my mom is improving and she can see a lot of improvement since she was here. She said at first my mom would not talk to her but now she says hello to her when she passes by her room and she can get a little bit of a smile from her on most days and she loves that. Lily's favorite words are God Bless You. Some people are offended but most aren't. One man calls her crazy Lopez and Lily laughs and laughs and she winks at him and says to him that back in her younger days she probably was a little more crazier then most people and then she rolls on to the next person on her list to visit.
Lily does not know how many more weeks, or months that she has to be there but she has invited everyone to her birthday party next week. I don't think that you can have actual parties in that place but knowing Lily she will find a way if there is one. But, I am pretty sure that even if Lily can't find a way to have her party she will find a way to celebrate her day and make the day of someone else, or a lot of someone Else's. She said that some might say she is crazy Lopez but she is not crazy she is just trying to make the most of a bad situation. And that she does very well.
Lily wheels herself around in a wheelchair and is never in one place for too long. She picks the purple flowers in the yard and she passes them to her friend, Rose, who likes to keep to herself in her room and doesn't come outside much. I think that is Lily's way of trying to coax her outside for a little sunlight and fresh air. One day Lily says she will come outside. I think that she is right. Lily goes from room to room talking to everyone and always says hello at the very least. She told me today as my mom sat in the sunlight for a little while that she is glad that my mom is improving and she can see a lot of improvement since she was here. She said at first my mom would not talk to her but now she says hello to her when she passes by her room and she can get a little bit of a smile from her on most days and she loves that. Lily's favorite words are God Bless You. Some people are offended but most aren't. One man calls her crazy Lopez and Lily laughs and laughs and she winks at him and says to him that back in her younger days she probably was a little more crazier then most people and then she rolls on to the next person on her list to visit.
Lily does not know how many more weeks, or months that she has to be there but she has invited everyone to her birthday party next week. I don't think that you can have actual parties in that place but knowing Lily she will find a way if there is one. But, I am pretty sure that even if Lily can't find a way to have her party she will find a way to celebrate her day and make the day of someone else, or a lot of someone Else's. She said that some might say she is crazy Lopez but she is not crazy she is just trying to make the most of a bad situation. And that she does very well.
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