I grew up on a small family farm in rural New England. It was usual in those times to live in extended families and ours was no different. I lived with my mom and dad along with two younger sisters Joanie and Margaret. My Aunt Cile was just a short walk away with her husband and my cousins, Edie, Bill, and Jane. As playmates we had a lot of fun and were the cause of good clean trouble. Our Grandparents, Bill and Mae, lived in the farmhouse on the other side of the vegetable garden.My teen years were spent in the orange groves of central Florida where I cared for my aging grandparents. Caring for my grandparents in an elder community is where I gained my love for seniors.After graduating school, I moved back to the farm and went to work for a local insurance company where I met my lifelong love, Bob. Together we raised a family of two girls and two boys. Before all the kids were in school, I began delivering meals to seniors that were homebound. I would take our youngest son along with me and the seniors loved seeing him.As the senior community grew, I was hired to work with the director developing programs and delivering them to those in need. As Director of the Center, I published a monthly Newsletter sent to all the seniors. Many of the stories included in this book were read and very much enjoyed by the Seniors.I also traveled to the sugar cane villages in the plantations on the eastern plains of the Dominican Republic. There we provided medical care for all, especially the children. We also built schools and churches for community use. The major accomplishment was the construction of a 50 bed hospital to serve the sugar cane workers and their family.
