Jennifer Gilliam and I had the MOST FUN lunch ever a few weeks ago with a group of about 25 seniors in Hanover County. They get together for a Diner’s Club every month to try different restaurants throughout the county. It is sponsored by Hanover County Parks and Rec and I was so excited to be asked to come share about what we do. We chatted with the folks there while they decided what to order, and then while we were all waiting for our food Jennifer and I got to tell them all about what Dowda Senior Consultants does and what we are all about. They were the MOST active listeners and asked the best questions, making all of us laugh HARD several times.
Once the food came, we sat down to enjoy our time with them and share a meal. The lovely woman seated next to me bravely shared about her husband’s recent passing, and her honesty and trust was such a gift. I had been crying with laughter earlier in the morning, and then was crying with her in her sadness. As she was sharing, she told me about her friend (seated across the table from us) who refused to let her stay home in her grief. Despite this woman’s protests, her friend dragged her to the Diner’s club and introduced her to the folks there. The incredible gratitude that she felt was evident in every word she spoke — I wanted to go hug her friend across the table (and later I did :-).
It was such a HUGE reminder of how easily seniors can get isolated and how VERY MUCH we all need each other! As I sat and looked around the table at El Patron, I wanted to be able to host fun events for seniors every single day! We laughed (so much), we cried (or at least I did), and we lived our lives together for those few hours. An idea was birthed in my mind for a huge event for next spring where we can all have fun together — more on that later!! For now — go out, find yourself a senior, have some good food and drink, and HAVE FUN!!!! (I was having too much fun to remember to take a picture so all I have is this picture of the cookies I baked for them!)
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