Ivy

What is your picture of the perfect grandmother? Michele’s grandmother Ivy probably fulfills the image you have in your mind. Growing up, Michele and her sister lived in the country, next door to their grandmother Ivy on the family farm. If Michele was looking for her grandmother, she could find hard at work at the sewing machine, in the garden, in the kitchen, or working on paperwork for the ranch.

Ivy was an accomplished seamstress, making dresses for her granddaughters and Mayfest costumes for all the girls for the highly anticipated annual performance. Ivy’s garden was her happy place where she grew the vegetables she included in the homecooked meals she prepared every night for her granddaughters. Ivy loved to cook, making jellies and pies from the dewberries her granddaughters gathered every summer and taking turns hosting Thanksgiving with her sisters. In Ivy’s home, food was an opportunity to gather with family and share love around the table.

Michele’s parents both worked, so much of her time was spent in the loving care of her grandmother who helped her sew her first dress when she was in middle school and taught her to garden and cook. Ivy was always there for them in times of trouble. When Michele and her sister lost their own parents, Ivy and her husband provided love and support. When Michele’s first baby was born, Ivy was there in the hospital, and she came to stay after both of Michele’s babies were born while Michele recovered. When Ivy and her husband retired from the hard physical work of ranching and moved to the city, Ivy still kept a garden in her yard, hands and heart in the soil and in growing things.

When their health began to fail, Ivy and Wesley, her husband of over 65 years, moved from sleeping in their beds to sleeping side by side in matching recliners. Recently, Ivy was introduced to Project 4031. She lives in a skilled nursing facility now, and because of her congestive heart failure, her recliner is still her most comfortable place to sleep. Unfortunately, the chair was permanently in the “legs up” position making it difficult to use and a tripping hazard in the room. The remote was lost and could not be replaced. Project 4031 purchased a replacement chair with an attached remote to allow Ivy to rest comfortably without worrying about the potential fall risk. Michele said, “Without Project 4031, I was not sure what I was going to do. She needs the chair to sleep. My sister and I could not afford to buy her a new chair.” Thanks to generous donors, Project 4031 was able to meet the need of this beautiful grandmother who has devoted her life to meeting the needs of others.