Rocky Mountain Village held its annual family barbecue for residents and family members on Wednesday July 23, 2014 from four to six in the evening. Although rain was predicted it turned out to be a most wonderful sunny day and hundreds of people enjoyed sitting under the white domed tents placed on the outside front entrance to the Home.
Round tables and chairs were placed strategically under tents so as to provide protection from the sun while still allowing residents to delight in the gorgeous day.
This year’s Medieval theme had the RMV Auxiliary ladies and recreation director Shelley Moulton dressed in period costume adding to the festival atmosphere of the event.
Residents and guests enjoyed a delicious dinner of barbecued hamburgers, sausage and sandwiches, an assortment of salads and desserts washed down with iced tea and coffee.
Talented and well known singer Shelley Lynch and sister Cathy were on hand to provide musical entertainment. It was particularly poignant when Shelley announced she was going to perform a song specially dedicated to her good friend Jackie Boreen.
Jackie is a young woman suffering with MS for some time and last year also experienced two strokes that have necessitated her moving to Rocky Mountain Village. I have known Jackie since school days when she was a friend of my daughter Pina. I know Jackie to be a courageous young mother who has done much to alleviate her condition even travelling to another country to acquire experimental MS treatment that seemed to help for a while but then regretfully the condition relapsed back.
It’s normal for most healthy individuals to take well-being for granted. But in my family that is something that we have always held as very precious. My mother died shortly after celebrating her 49th birthday from ulcerative colitis. At age ten my youngest daughter developed severe kidney problems after having strep throat and at age 16 my husband donated one of his kidneys to her. Unfortunately after five years her body rejected the transplanted kidney and then for the next fifteen years dialysis was her life. She was at death’s door a couple of times so her life hasn’t been easy. Most recently my other daughter was diagnosed with cancer. It is only through the grace of God that my family is still together and living relatively normal lives.
It’s sad yet wonderful at the same time to attend these events to have opportunity to visit with residents who were once physically and mentally strong members of the community and to remember them as being such great contributors in so many ways. It is especially heart-rending to witness the deterioration of young people that I remember as beautiful both in spirit, mind and body and who now have to depend on others for their basic needs. It’s also sad to see the effect on spouses, children and other family members. But it’s equally lovely to see how family can come together despite these serious drawbacks and enjoy a picnic dinner with everyone.
One of my greatest pleasures is the time I spent interviewing the many seniors now long gone. It was always a privilege to hear their stories and to profile them and let others know how much they had accomplished.
Society today seems to focus only on the present, past contribution is often forgotten. What you do in the present is considered more relevant that what was accomplished in the past but we should remember that the present builds on the past and so what we enjoy today is due in large part to the efforts of our seniors. That thought and our senior members should always be remembered and respected.
