My Mother-in-law is quite plucky, belying her genteel grace and southern charm. Living at Roanoke’s retirement community, Hermitage, affords her many opportunities to participate in diverse activities and release her inner spunk. The creative Activities Director there routinely schedules fun, entertaining and often educational outings for their residents. There’s nothing too daunting for the residents to attempt, and she masterfully orchestrates each event with safety being the highest priority. Stellar outings, all!
The October highlight was billed a “mystery trip”, so I was eager to get a recap later. “We went on a hayride!” Mom exclaimed, clearly delighted at my astonishment. Trying to envision a hay wagon pulled by a tractor, filled with octogenarians and older, managing canes and walkers, having climbed into the wagon… well, it wasn’t exactly aligning with my idea of a seniors outing. True to form, they were quite safely escorted into the wagon by 3 persons, and they all had a blast! Perhaps the reason this event stayed under cover until the last minute was to avoid over-thinking participation. Mom seemed to recall her younger self, noting she’d not been on a hayride since high school. I’m afraid paint balling may be next…

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