Worth Celebrating

It had been too long (about three and a half months) since my last visit with Dr. Woolner. I have missed him so much. Life gets away from us sometimes, and that just isn’t acceptable in this circumstance. The last couple of times I have wanted to visit him, he has had health issues. He had a minor stroke a while back, and an ER visit another time. Each time, I wondered if he would recover. I wondered if I would get another chance to visit this dear man. I finally set up a time with his daughter, Anne, and walked down the hill to his house today. I was uncertain of what I would find, but eager to see him again.

He is incredibly resilient, of course.  

When I arrived, Dr. Woolner was sitting in his chair, covered up with two blankets, and a little drowsy. I saw that he was holding his harmonica. Hope surged through my veins. When asked, he played his favorite “Oh Susanna!” with gusto (and about five verses, with a flourish at the end). Oh, I love the spirit of that man. Anne helped him remember who I was, or at least explained my presence in his living room. We talked a little about Prince Edward Island while Anne tried to get him to eat a little bit. She informed me that they are hoping to go back to PEI again this summer. My heart soared with hope, too: hope that he would get to see his beloved Island again.

Today is a special day. It is Dr. Woolner’s half birthday. He is 102 and a half today. He smiled when reminded about that and talked a little about what he is doing with his second century. He read to us again, “Mending the Clock” from an old book of short stories and poems. His reading wasn’t quite as sharp as it had been a while back, but he still enjoyed that story so much – and of course, I enjoyed it right along with him.

Anne had requested that I take a few pictures, in honor of her dad's 102.5 landmark. OK, twist my arm! He played his harmonica some more and smiled his sweet smile, while I enjoyed snapping more pictures. What a pleasure it was to capture a few of the moments we had together today. Dr. Woolner, I think you’re amazing. Happy half birthday to you!

My favorite picture of the day. I love how much Anne loves her dad.