Beating the Odds

My friend, Joyce, from the other side of the state called this morning. We visited for some time getting caught up on each other's lives. Six months ago, Joyce had called me to inform that she was on her way to her mother's side because she had fallen in her retirement home apartment and broken both hips, shattering one of those. She had surgery on one at a time and most wouldn't have given much hope for her to have conquered this new challenge in her life. Maxine fooled them all and after some time was brought back to the retirement home but placed in the rest home part of the facility. They put her through the therapy paces and gradually her strength returned and she gained mobility. Recently, she was moved back into her apartment. Joyce recounted the joy it was to move her things back into a place where she can enjoy a measure of independence and privacy. I've been to visit Maxine at this place and know how far it is from the rest area part to the apartment. Maxine, at ninety years old, chose to walk with her walker the entire journey to freedom. Joyce and her brother were at Maxine's side as they slowly made their way through the long halls. When they approached the area near her apartment, all the ladies of her area were in the dining area through which Maxine had to walk. When they saw Maxine, they got out of their chairs and stood, began to clap and all broke out in song with;

Roll out the barrel, We'll have a barrel of fun
Roll out the barrel, we've got the blues on the run
Zing Boom Terrara
Join in a glass of good cheer
Now it's time to roll the barrel
For the gang's all here

Maxine's face was beaming with delight. Joyce looked at her brother and both had tears in their eyes. Joyce said the scene was worth a million bucks.

Sometimes the victory is oh so sweet when one beats the odds. Maxine is a tough cookie. But then, she has hung around tough cookies. One of her friends who was ninety years ago when I visited lived in her own house, drove her own car, did all her own gardening and kept the cutest house. When she took me on a tour of her home, she pointed out the candle sticks in the bath tub with this comment, "If I had known you were coming they would have been lit!"