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by Christian Schreiber, Staff Blogger"Never regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many." These are the first words Marilyn greeted me with when I entered her apartment at Village Woods, the Providence retirement community in Crete, Illinois. Marilyn is 93 years old and has lived at Village Woods for 23 years, longer than anyone else. She is colorful and pleasant, with an unmistakable voice. The stashes of Keebler snack packs and bottled Frappuccinos give away her love for sweets, but she is generous and offers me refreshments throughout our conversation.
Looking at the old photographs and news clippings posted on Marilyn's walls, it's clear that Marilyn has always been a character. A diminutive dynamo with big hair, big glasses, and flowery dresses, she poses with politicians — and they are the ones who fade into the background. She shows me the birthday cards that George W. Bush sent her — and I wonder how the President of the United States knows this 93-year-old Assisted Living resident is a Mark Grace fan.
I had a wonderful visit with this funny little lady, and I wanted you to meet her too. There's no profound life lesson in today's blog, no moral of the story. I'll just keep it short and sweet. Like Marilyn.
by Melanie Jongsma, Director of Communications
On Monday I received an email from a co-worker at Village Woods, the Providence Life Services retirement community in Crete, Illinois. She was letting me know that one of men in their maintenance department -- Barry Voss -- is planning to shave his head for charity.
Now, I work in the corporate office at Providence, so I don't personally know many of the staff at our various campuses. But this email intrigued me enough to find out more about Barry. I found out he's a great guy!
Barry has been at Village Woods for 9 years. The residents appreciate him because he's always friendly and he loves to spend time chatting with them. His co-workers appreciate him because he's willing to do any job that makes life more pleasant for the residents -- from "typical" things like fixing equipment, to more general things like cleaning and vacuuming. So it was no surprise to his co-workers when Barry agreed to shave his head to raise money for children's cancer research!
Anyway, I love it that Barry is not only dedicated to doing the extra, ordinary things that make life joyful for Village Woods residents, but he's also committed to making a difference in the broader community. I think Barry Voss is good people.
If you want to see him shave his head and support his efforts to raise money for cancer research, visit www.stbaldricks.org.
