Meal Recipient Stories
“These are my daughters. Aren’t they just so delicious?” Mildred asks as she proudly shares old family photos. “Years ago, one had to relocate to Florida for work. And my other daughter is now in a nursing home. But the home is a good place. I try to find comfort in knowing she is being cared for.”
Mildred, a 95 year old New York native, exudes warmth. During our conversation, her eyes constantly return to the shelf filled with pictures and her mouth turns upward in a soft smile. She calls herself a people person and spent many years as a salesperson at a department store. “I wanted to make people feel good and do good things for them. I gave them deals and extended sales even though I wasn’t supposed to. But I was good at my job!”
In 1938, Mildred met her match. She walked into a hair salon for a last minute appointment and the man styling her hair asked her for a date. They married few years later. “He was actually a salesman! He was just there to help his family, the owners of the salon, because it was so busy that day. He was so handsome.”
The couple was very happy together and had two daughters. Shortly after celebrating their 50th anniversary, Mildred’s husband was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He died a few months later.
Just months before Mildred lost her beloved husband, her daughter began to suffer mental and physical illness. Mildred devoted herself to her. “They told me I needed help, but I wanted to be there for her. I wanted to keep her with me. I did for as long as I could.”
When her daughter suffered a stroke in 2002, Mildred realized that her own physical ailments would not allow her to care for her. Reluctantly, Mildred brought her to a nursing home.
All alone now, Mildred contends with very painful rheumatoid arthritis, a bleeding ulcer, cataracts and heart problems. “I get out of breath walking to the door. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep.”
In spite of the physical and emotional challenges Mildred faces, her spirit remains positive. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve been through. It matters that you’re a good person.” She gazes past me to the bookshelf where the photos capture her fondest memories. “Life is just delicious.”
