Elliott at 103 - Still Going Strong

Elliott at 103 – Still Going Strong

This has been quite a week for Elliott.  First, he turned 103 years old.  Surrounded by family and friends, he celebrated with a birthday cake (sans candles).  But that was just the beginning.  He also graduated, not once, but twice – first from occupational therapy, and then from physical therapy.  I am so proud of my husband for demonstrating his commitment to an exercise program of walking and weight training.  

Elliott checking his oxygen midway through a neighborhood walk

Finally, to cap off the week, Elliott started “day camp” at the Little River Glen Senior Center.  Getting my camper ready to leave the house brought back memories of getting Elisa and Matthew off to school:  Hurry up and finish your breakfast.  Do you have your wallet with ID?  Did you remember your lunch money?  Maybe he was a little nervous at first, but there were no tears.  

 

Arriving at "camp" - the Little River Glen Senior Center

As I expected, Ellliot was warmly welcomed by the staff, volunteers, and other campers, who were amazed to learn his age.  Also as I expected, he received a lot of attention from the women.  One in particular latched onto Elliott as soon as she spied him.  It’s a good thing I’m not the jealous type.  

It’s such a relief that Elliott was willing to try this new experience.  He really needed to get out of the house for a few hours at a time, and he has always enjoyed being around other people.  I investigated county facilities for seniors while he was in rehab and this center seemed like the perfect solution.  It’s a bright and cheerful place, open weekdays from 9 am to 4 pm, with plenty of activities and trips, in addition to a well-equipped fitness room.  My hope is that Elliott will attend the center a couple of days a week.  The county even provides transportation for a dollar a day, round-trip, if we want to use that service in the future.  

While Elliott was in camp, I used my few “free” hours to run errands, eat lunch, and enjoy some time alone in the house.  It seemed eerily quiet without the hum of the oxygen concentrator.  On Friday, I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Workhouse to pick up some of the fused glass pieces that were recently fired.  These include the photo transfer pieces, the “puddles,” and the pot melt.  I’ll try to post photos to the glass blog soon.  It takes me half a hour to drive to Workhouse, and I feel like I'm in another world as soon as I arrive.  I know the buildings formerly housed a prison, but it feels more like a monastery.  And there's something so bucolic about the setting that always calms me down. 

A typical afternoon at the Workhouse Arts Center

Matt and Elliott had a boys’ night on Saturday – burgers and sweet potato fries from Smashburger – while I went into DC for a National Symphony Orchestra concert at the Kennedy Center with my step-daughter, Debbie, who is visiting from Texas.  It was a great program, called Rhythms of the Americas, featuring Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, short works by two Latin American composers (Ginastera and Estévez), and a new concerto for steel pan and orchestra by American composer Andy Akiho.  A young guest conductor from Venezuela, Manuel Lopez-Gomez, led the NSO in an exciting and exhilarating performance. 

We’ve also started a new project here at home:  researching generators.  Knowing that we often lose power during summer storms, I thought it would be a good idea to have a back-up power source for Elliott’s oxygen concentrator.  I started looking into this last week and Elliott is now involved.  His research style is much more thorough than mine, so I imagine the project will keep him busy for quite a while.  We welcome suggestions from anyone who has experience with generators.