Nana
lives in Houston Ridge, a senior apartment complex. She’s moved there March 1993 after selling her home on Melvina Street in Montgomery, PA. After
decades of home ownership, Nana was ready to give up the headaches. Like evicting
a swarm of angry bees that bored into her bedroom walls. Like plumbing problems
and having to replace a rotting roof. Like teenage neighbors who terrorized her
with threatening phone calls during late night hours. Us four kids were
ready too—to not have to mow her grass, shovel her snow and trim her lilac
bushes.
Downsizing wasn’t fun for Nana. It was a challenge
to clean out a two story, two bedroom house with an attic to fit into a small one
bedroom apartment. Leaving behind her washing machine was Nana’s biggest
regret. She still misses her GE Washing Machine with the mini-basket for small
loads. Converting to coin-operated laundry facilities used by all the other
residents didn’t sit well with Nana.
Even
with the loss of her precious washing machine, the advantages of senior
apartment living couldn’t be denied. A
giant dumpster for trash was just steps away from her door. No more smelly garbage
cans and monthly bills for garbage collection. The view from her balcony created
a post card worthy vista. Fields with rows of corn or soybeans and the Pennsylvania
Mountains—lush green in the summer and crimson in the fall. Much better than
neighbor kids ripping through her grass on bikes and unleashed dogs making her
back yard a bathroom.
As with
any neighborhood, Nana’s had some good neighbors and some not so good. The good
ones linger in our memory while the not-so-good ones faded away. For most of
the last twenty one years, Nana’s downstairs neighbor was Hazel. Over the
years, Nana and Hazel had their spats. However, in the later years, they seemed
to realize the value of their friendship. Hazel and Nana both celebrated
birthdays in September. Hazel was nine years older than Nana and enjoyed the
luxury of living on her own with the help of her three daughters. When the
ambulance came last May after Hazel experienced a fall, it was the last time we
saw her. At 98, she went to live in a local nursing home. In June this year,
Hazel died at the age of 99, just three months shy of her 100th
birthday. A good neighbor and a sweet lady Nana and I won’t forget.
One of
Nana’s current neighbors is Chuck. A widower, Chuck’s constant companion is his
little dog Griz who accompanies him wherever he goes, whether to the
mailboxes or in Chuck’s truck to go to the store. For many years, Chuck has
delivered Nana’s morning paper to her door every morning. He does this service
free of charge for Nana and a few others who would have trouble walking out to
the paper boxes early in the morning. Chuck’s a veteran who also used to work
in home health care. Maybe that’s why he’s so compassionate and kind, but he’s
also fun. He teases Nana all the time about taking her square dancing on a
Saturday night.
Nana
lives alone but I know in her neighborhood she’s not really alone. Chuck makes
sure her paper is picked up each morning and, if not, he has phone numbers for
all her kids. Many other neighbors, like Bud, Haley, Fay, Ruth and Kathy,
always inquire about Nana during my visits. I know if she needed help, any of
them would be there for her.
When
Nana was in a nursing home for six weeks last year, she asked every day, “When
can I go home?” Returning to her senior apartment last September, Nana knew she
wasn’t just returning to her neighborhood, she was truly going home.
Melvina Street, Winter 1978
Melvina Street, Fall 1989
Nana at Houston Ridge, Spring 2013
Nana and Chuck, September 2013
Chuck and Griz, June 2014
