Fashion, in Wardrobe Wire’s eyes, is more than just pretty clothes and accessories. I would like to share with you a story about something that I found more fashionable than any piece of couture clothing I’ve ever desired and drooled over. Names in the story have been changed for privacy purposes.
Friday afternoon I volunteered to care for a 95 year old woman, that is on her death bed, that is suffering from dementia. About an hour into my visit I hear a knock at the back door and an old and demanding voice say, “Molly, Molly, LET ME IN, LET ME IN!” I go to the back door (which I can only open a little because the patients hospital bed is blocking it from being opened completely) and I see this little old lady with a walker standing there. “Where is Molly?” she asks in a grumpy way. I informer her that Molly, the patients care taker, had an appointment and that I was a volunteer caring for Ellen while Molly is away. “Well let me in. “ Not wanting to piss off this little old lady, I move Ellen’s hospital bed (Ellen starts yelling at me to stop while doing so), and then the little old lady leaves her walker at the door, grabs a hold of Ellen’s bed and moves herself over to talk to Ellen, and instructs me to go next door to shut her screen door.
When I return from shutting little old lady’s door, little old lady is holding Ellen’s hand and talking to her. Little old lady then asked me what I know about Ellen. I told her that I just met her today and don’t know anything about her. Little old lady told me that she was Ellen’s best friend of 40 years. Little old lady told me all about Ellen’s past and how Ellen is the smartest woman in the world. This was the first time during my visit that I saw Ellen open her eyes and smile and look so peaceful. She knew exactly who was there and was speaking so highly of her (even though she can’t tell the difference between me, a 33 year old tall blonde woman and her care taker of 2 years a short 50 year old Filipino woman).
What I found so precious about this moment, was that Ellen’s best friend of 40 years wanted to make sure that I, a complete stranger, knew who her best friend REALLY was…not some senile woman ordering salmon in her sleep. It made me think about how awful people can behind others backs- even their best friends. It made me think about my best friends and, if I’m fortunate enough to live close to them and strut over with my little walker and visit them during their last moments of life, how I will brag about them to whoever is around so that they know what an amazing person my friend is and is remembered as that person.
I followed little old lady back next door so that I could open her door, that she asked me to shut earlier, and just as she was about to walk in she turned around and said “I’m going next door.” Little old lady had another person she wanted to go pay a visit to. She’s an angel and one hell of a good friend!
Stay Fancy,
Paige Rolfe
