Wanda has a smile at least a mile wide. A community member at The Pines United Church Homes assisted living community, she adds brightness to every gathering. I felt lucky to have her attend all three of the poem RENOVATION workshops I held while there as an entrepreneur in residence. During one workshop, she chose a word block collection with a “memories” theme. After rearranging the words for a few minutes, she shared this phrase:
“There, old friendships and memories of fragrance, ingredients.”
I asked if she had a memory associated with a certain fragrance.
“Yes, but it’s sad,” she replied, a faraway look in her eyes. “It’s the memory of my husband’s cologne. Sometimes I still sprinkle it on my pillow.”
Her smile reappeared when another memory came to mind: the heavenly smell that filled the kitchen in her childhood home when her mother baked cookies.
Wanda has a smile at least a mile wide, and a husband she misses very much, and happy memories of a mom who baked for her. I know Wanda a little bit better now.
poem RENOVATION opened that door.