Celebrate Me Home

by Donna Poole

Diane couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a visitor, but she was okay with that. If you never marry, live to be ninety-six years old, and outlive all your friends and family, who exactly is going to come see you in some dismal nursing home tucked away in the middle of nowhere? No one, that’s who. And there were plenty of others like her there who hadn’t seen a visitor in weeks, or months, sometimes in years.

So, for the ten years she’d been a resident of Buckingham Palace, as she’d named it, she’d adopted the old Victorian practice of calling hours. Unlike the Victorian ladies, she didn’t go calling from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Most of the other residents were napping in the early part of that time and being transported down to dinner at the later part of it. She went calling in the morning.

After breakfast in the dining hall the residents went back to their rooms. Unlike pricier care homes, this one had no activities to entertain its guests. Its clientele stayed mostly in their rooms or dozed, chins on chests, in the dark and somewhat odiferous hallways.

The nurses would have changed the situation if they could have, but they were too old, too few, and too overworked. Plus, there were no funds. Diane’s favorite nurse, Jenny, had told her she’d heard rumors of a state nurse who was visiting nursing homes checking on conditions. and improvements usually happened after she filed her reports. True, there was only one nurse for the whole state, but Jenny hoped every day to see her walk through the doors. Diane pictured the state nurse as some kind of miracle working angel, a beautiful woman whose smile would light up the dark rooms and whose powers would bring better living conditions, perhaps even social times for the residents to bring smiles to sad faces.

Diane prayed for that, but she also did what her mother had told her to do when she’d been a little girl.

“Diane, put feet to your prayers.”

“What does that mean, Mother?”

“It means pray and trust God; then do what you can to make things better yourself.”

Diane’s calling hours were her solution to make things better. She started preparing at 9:00 a.m. When you’re an old lady, it takes a long time to put on proper undergarments, nylons, a Sunday dress, good shoes, a hat, and white gloves. She got out of breath often during the process and had to sit down and catch her breath. But a lady doesn’t go calling dressed in less than her best, not even during a brutally hot summer in a place where the air conditioning works only when it wants to.

A splash of perfume, a dash of lipstick, and Diane was out the door, her black patent leather purse stuffed with tissues over her arm. A lady never knew when her nose might run, and if you were Diane, your nose ran a lot. Diane’s runny nose upset her more than her painful arthritis and her diagnosis of a terminal disease.

Nurse Jenny gave Diane a list of who needed visits. Some were people from the memory care hall who weren’t yet so forgetful they didn’t know they were lonely. Like any proper lady, Diane knocked on a door and waited for a “come in.”

It wasn’t long before the nurses heard laughter coming from the room Diane was visiting. She had a gift of bringing light, love, and laughter, and every morning, regardless of how she felt, she shared her gift from room to room.

“Does she have a joke book or what?” Penny, a new nurse, asked Jenny.

Jenny shook her head. “She gets them talking about their childhood, or about something funny one of their children did, or I don’t really know what. I do know she never leaves a room without telling the person Jesus loves them and died for them, and she doesn’t sound preachy. She makes a big difference in this place. We’re really going to miss her when she’s gone.”

Penny nodded. “Someone told me a doctor gave her three months to live. How long ago was that?”

Jenny couldn’t keep the grin off her face. “Five years.”

“What?”

“Yeah. No one can explain it. The doctor who comes in here says love keeps her going.”

“You think a lot of her, don’t you?”

“I love these people. I do something special for them every year to celebrate the Fourth of July. It’s happening late tonight. It’s fun, if you’d like to stay.”

Penny shook her head. “I’m sorry. I would, but we celebrate Independence Day with our grandchildren. You don’t spend any of the day with family?”

Jenny shrugged. “I’m like many of the residents here. I don’t have any family. I suppose that’s why I’ve grown so close to many of them.”

Diane smiled at the two nurses as she hurried past their desk, going as quickly as her walker would allow. She had many visits to make today. It was a special day. And unlike most days, she only went to the rooms of the more mobile, healthier patients. They needed visits too.

“Why is Diane so dressed up? She looks like she’s ready to go to church in the 1950’s,” Penny asked.

Jenny chuckled. “She’s going visiting. You’ll get used to that.”

Diane stayed only a few seconds in each room. “Tonight’s the special night! Try to stay awake if you want to come. We meet in the dining hall at 9:00.”

Penny left when the day shift ended, but Jenny stayed. It took awhile to get the dining hall party ready, decorated with patriotic streamers and little flags. She was surprised when Penny came into the room a few minutes after 8:00.

“Do you need any help?”

“I’d love it! But what about your celebration with the grandkids?”

“They all have the stomach flu!”

The two women cut up the red, white, and blue sugar free Jello, and arranged it on plates. Then they put out the cupcakes Jenny had made, gluten and sugar free, but delicious. The residents began arriving, and the two nurses went to get those who needed help getting there. They exclaimed about the decorations and the refreshments.

The show started at 10:00. The residents clapped and laughed like children as they watched the town’s fireworks display out of the windows. For many of them it was the highlight of the year. The show ended with gold stars that filled the night sky. Entirely uncoached, those looking out of the windows recited the pledge of allegiance.

Penny got the residents back to the room by herself. Jenny had missed the whole show. She’d been sitting by Diane’s bed with tears running down her face. Diane had collapsed before she’d taken her first bite of Jello, and the two nurses had gotten her back into her room and into bed. Jenny put her stethoscope on Diane’s heart one more time. There had been no heartbeat for five minutes. She’d called the doctor, but he was on another emergency, and Diane was a DNR, so there was no hurry.

“Why am I crying? She’s wanted to go to heaven for years!” Jenny spoke aloud to the empty room. No, not empty. God was there and a host of unseen angels.

She jumped when she heard a voice. “Jenny, why are you crying? I’ve had the most amazing dream! I dreamt I went to heaven and fell at the feet of Jesus. So many people were there I’ve loved. Then they celebrated my homecoming with fireworks. The last one was the most beautiful of all. Gold stars filled the entire night sky! And why are you crying?”

“I’m crying because I’m happy. Go to sleep now, Diane. I’ll tell you all about it in the morning.”

“I guess I better get to sleep. I need to go calling tomorrow morning, you know.”

“Yes, dear, I know.” Jenny bent over and kissed her on the forehead.

She was almost out the door when Diane said, “Maybe that angel will come tomorrow.”

Jenny’s heart skipped a beat. “What angel?”

“You know that beautiful state nurse who is going to make things better around here.”

“Oh, that angel. Maybe she will come. But I think we already have one angel who makes things better every day, and I’m glad we get to keep her a little longer.”

But Diane was already asleep.

The end

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These blogs are now available in book form on Amazon:

Backroad Ramblings Volume One: Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter

Backroad Ramblings Volume Two: Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter

Backroad Ramblings Volume Three: Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter

Backroad Ramblings Volume Four: Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter