Thu, February 2, 2006 - 6:02 AM I love my exercise teacher, Cinder. She makes me happy when we sing and dance to "I Will Survive" or "Never say Goodbye", I have been dancing with her for 15 years.
Her Mom Pat, died last week and it was a death in our community. Pat loved her life, teaching seniors to tap dance and remodeling her daughter's house so it would be lovely after her death. No "personal growth" classes there, just a commitment to live life to the fullest. Cinder and Pat had the most loving relationship I have seen a Mother and daughter have. Cinder made each moment of these last 4 months everything she could and they did everything Pat wanted, Yosemite, the DeYoung, the Russian River. She slept with Pat the last few weeks so someone would be there when Pat awakened. Her Mother died and Cinder knows she did everything she could. No REGRETS!
Yesterday Cinder included me in a Tea that had been planned before her Mom's death for the senior tappers and they all talked about how much fun it had been to be on TV and tap across the Golden Gate Bridge with Pat, yes "Tap with Pat". And how it was all Pat that made it happen. They appreciated that she cared about whether they tapped their right foot in unison with the rest of the class. She was tough and she made a difference in their lives. She had brought fame and fun to these little ladies living on social security, and taking 2 buses from Polk and Broadway to Bernal Heights to take her free class. I went on Muni metro with them, these tiny chinese ladies so full of vigor.
I met these ladies (and one man) when I went their class to take their photos so I could make a t-shirt transfer for them, then I went back the next week to put the transfers on their shirts, taking my friend Chris, who fell in love with tap dance (after living with the effects of polio as a child) and is now tapping with the seniors. She is a Burner and my long time friend and helped them with their dance outfits, sequins and all. So here is to Pat's passing, and kudos to my beloved Cinder who has made her Mother's death a lovely graceful moment in their lives.
Jenni
Thu, February 2, 2006 - 9:22 AM
that is so beautiful, thank you for sharing such a lovely story!
Posts
1 comment:
Dear Pat,
Your story is so endearing. Thank you for treating your mom with such care and love.
My mission in life is to find as many outlets as possible to
share solutions from our "just released" DVD entitled, Saving our Parents. This DVD is being used as a training video for families, caregivers, hospitals, groups and government agencies throughout the world and won the 2007 Silver National Mature Media Award in its category of best in educational materials for older adults.
Hosted and narrated by Ed Asner (Mary Tyler Moore Show), and featuring LAPD Police Chief William Bratton and Los Angeles Director of Public Health, Dr. Jonathan Fielding, "Saving Our Parents" is a MUST SEE documentary that will help protect and educate our public servants, older adults and their adult children about safe and healthy aging.
"One elderly person is victimized every 2.7 minutes."
Fewer and fewer parents can rely on their adult children to care for them -- you are a real role model in our society. By allowing me to post on your site, you are assisting in our mission to:
Prevent a million elders from becoming victimized
Raise $1 million to find a cure for Alzheimer’s - a portion of the sales proceeds will be donated to The John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation
Inspire & empower one million families to care for their loved ones in their golden years
Please take a moment to visit our website: www.savingourparents.com to view clips of our DVD and learn about discounted rates for orders.
With gratitude for all you do,
Dorothy Breininger, Producer, Saving our Parents, and
President, Delphi Center for Organization, Inc.
Debby Bitticks, Producer, Saving our Parents, and
CEO, Delphi Health Products, Inc.
SavingOurParents.com
Post a Comment