12 March 2014

It is sometimes hard to overstate the importance of friends and family in our lives - even the friends we have only known for a little while.  Being a part of a community, and staying connected with others is good for the soul, which is why programs such as the Senior Activity Center in Puyallup can be so vital to the lives of its members.  And sometimes, there can be happy surprises, such as happened recently with one Senior Center member named Irene.

     

Irene lives in the Puyallup area and originally came to the Family Services Office looking for assistance late in 2012.  Born in Wisconsin and raised in Texas, Irene moved to Puyallup nearly 40 years ago when her ex-husband was assigned to a nearby military base.  Over the years, she raised five children of her own, and saw the birth of 13 grandchildren, but her two sons both died in their early twenties many years ago.

Today, Irene cares for grandsons Gavin and James, after the state removed them from their mother's care due to problems with drug addiction.  At the time she turned to the Army for help, Irene was dealing with her own depression and the approaching holidays meant she was feeling the loss of her sons more than usual. 

"I could tell she was depressed," explains Maretha Baltimore, the Director of the Family Services Office, "So I suggested she try coming to the Senior Center. "

Irene did start going to the Center, and was soon participating in activities such as the weekly Ceramics class and the Bingo games.  She was able to enjoy a hot meal for lunch each day, as well as enjoy the fellowship of other seniors.  And it was there at the Center one day that she received a big surprise.

While talking with some of her new friends, Irene mentioned a dearly loved friend named Dorothy, whom Irene described as "a second mother." At one time, Dorothy had lived in The Salvation Army's senior Silvercrest apartments, which is next door to the Senior Center.  Irene told them how she hadn't seen Dorothy in nearly 15 years was and had been told that Dorothy had passed away. To Dorothy’s surprise, another senior at the Center, BJ, knew that was Dorothy still alive and  still living in the Silvercrest apartments.

Irene's eyes light up, and she gets a bit animated, as she explains what happened next, "I kept telling BJ - you gotta take me over there, you gotta take me over there!" 

And so it was, a few minutes later, Irene was knocking on the door of her long-lost friend's apartment.  When the door opened, it was hugs and tears, a "family" reunited and the change in Irene's outlook since that day has been obvious to others.  

"She looks so much better" Maretha says, "I can see how happy she is."

Today, Irene and Dorothy keep in touch by talking on the phone regularly and visiting with each other as time permits. Irene continues attending the Senior Center several times a week, but now her two grandsons are participating in the weekly Youth programs at The Salvation Army as well.  

Perhaps, Irene says it best, "Both of my sons are gone and the holidays were very depressing.  I'm not depressed any more."