the monthly newsletter for rivercourt residences

Mother Teresa (1910–1997)

Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well. —Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa, the mother of all beings lived with a single purpose—“to serve the dying.” Mother Teresa was born in Albania and her real name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She loved India so much that she decided to make it her home. She became an independent nun

and opened a congregation called “Missionaries of Charity” in Kolkata (Calcutta). Mother Teresa had shared her life with the sick, poor and the orphans. Mother Teresa is a true picture of immense devotion and love. Her work made her the mother of all.Mother Teresa taught in India for 17 years before she experienced her 1946 “call within a call” to devote herself to caring for the sick and poor. Her order estab-lished a hospice; centers for the blind, aged, and disabled, and a leper colony. She was summoned to Rome in 1968, and in 1979 received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work.Early Life . . . In 1919, when Mother Teresa was only 8 years old, her father sud-denly fell ill and died. While the cause of his death remains unknown, many have speculated that political enemies poisoned him. In the aftermath of her father’s death, Mother Teresa became extraordinarily close to her mother, a pious and com-passionate woman who instilled in her daughter a deep commitment to charity.Although by no means wealthy, Drana Bojaxhiu extended an open invitation to the cities destitute to dine with her family. “My child, never eat a single mouthful unless you are sharing it with others,” she counseled her daughter. When Mother Teresa asked who the people eating with them were, her mother uniformly responded, “Some of them are our relations, but all of them are our people.”Religious Calling Mother Teresa attended a convent-run primary school and then a state-run secondary school. . . . in 1928, an 18-year-old Agnes Bojaxhiu decided to become a nun and set off for Ireland to join the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. It was there that she took the name Sister Mary Teresa after Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.A year later, Mother Teresa traveled on to Darjeeling, India for the novitiate period; in May 1931, Mother Teresa made her First Profession of Vows. After-ward she was sent to Calcutta, where she was assigned to

ContactsSusan Whitty-Kennedy ext. 242 Executive Director skennedy@rivercourtresidences.com

Sharon Amadon ext. 234 Resident Care Director samadon@rivercourtresidences.com

Kim Landi ext. 227 Reflections Program Director klandi@rivercourtresidences.com

Karen McKenzie ext. 222 Director of Marketing kmckenzie@rivercourtresidences.com

Trisha McCaig ext 223 Office Manager tmccaig@rivercourtresidences.com

Kathy Santiago ext. 240 Activity & Volunteer Director ksantiago@rivercourtresidences.com

8 West Main StreetGroton, MA 01450www.rivercourtresidences.comp: 978-448-4122 f: 978-448-4133

May 2014

IntroducingShelby Dudley, serverMatthew Dowd, dishwasherJohn Thomas, dishwasher

Sidney Morgan

Sidney works in the kitchen as a server. The

residents all talk about how much they love her. She is a team

player. Always smiling, and has a positive attitude. She fills in for other servers when they

need her to. Her attitude and love for the residents is what makes her so special.

Employee of the Month

teach at Saint Mary’s High School for Girls, . . . Mother Teresa learned to speak both Bengali and Hindi fluently as she taught geography and history and dedicated herself to alleviating the girls’ poverty through education.On May 24, 1937, she took her Final Profession of Vows to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. As was the custom for Loreto nuns, she took on the title of “mother” upon making her final vows and thus became known as Mother Teresa. . . .A New Calling However, on September 10, 1946, Mother Teresa experienced a second calling that would forever transform her life. She was riding a train from Calcutta to the Himalayan foothills for a retreat when Christ spoke to her and told her to abandon teaching and to work in the slums of Calcutta aiding the city’s poorest and sick-est people. “I want Indian Nuns, Missionaries of Charity, who would be my fire of love amongst the poor, the sick, the dying and the little children,” she heard Christ say to her on the train that day. “You are I know the most inca-pable person—weak and sinful but just because you are that—I want to use You for My glory. Wilt thou refuse?”. . .The Missionaries of Charity . . . In October 1950, she won canonical recognition for a new congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, which she founded with only 12 members—most of them former teachers or pupils from St. Mary’s School. As the ranks of her congregation swelled and donations poured in from around India and across the globe, the scope of Mother Teresa’s charitable activities expanded exponentially. Over the course of the 1950s and 1960s, she established a leper colony, an

orphanage, a nursing home, a family clinic, and a string of mobile health clinics.International Charity and Recognition In February 1965, Pope Paul VI bestowed the Decree of Praise upon the Missionaries of Charity, which prompted Mother Teresa to begin expanding internationally. By the time of her death in 1997, the Missionaries of Charity numbered over 4,000—in addition to thousands more lay volun-teers—with 610 foundations in 123 countries on all seven continents. . . .Death and Legacy After several years of deteriorating health in which she suffered from heart, lung, and kidney problems, Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997 at the age of 87. . . .For her unwavering commitment to aiding those most in need, Mother Teresa stands out as one of the greatest humanitarians of the twentieth century. She combined profound empathy and a fervent commitment to her cause with incredible organizational and managerial skills that allowed her to develop a vast and effective international organization of missionaries to help impoverished citi-zens all across the globe.However, despite the enormous scale of her charitable activities and the millions of lives she touched, to her dying day she held only the most humble conception of her own achievements. Summing up her life in charac-teristically self-effacing fashion, Mother Teresa said, “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”

Welcome New ResidentsPeggy GoodellMolly Junkala

William PatersonJoe Roche

TheLeatherboard

Mother Teresa continued

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Wellness Things You Can Do To Prevent the Spread of

InfectionFor those recovering from influenza and similar respi-ratory infections, even colds, the recovery can be slow and prolonged. This is often the nature of recuperating from any condition that has caused fever or extended illness. When symptoms last for a week or more caus-ing decreased appetite as well as decreased mobility the time it takes to return to normal can be much longer than usual (www.mayoclinic.org).That said, there are several things we can do to prevent the spread of colds and influenza, but the single most effective way to prevent the spread of communicable ill-ness is by washing your hands. Because we can not see germs with the naked eye it is important to wash your hands often. Proper hand washing consists of first wet-ting your hands with warm water, applying soap, and rubbing hands together for at least 20 seconds making sure you are cleaning between the fingers and also under fingernails where germs are likely to gather. Rinse well and completely dry hands using a paper towel.It is important to wash your hands:

Before, during, and after you prepare food.Before you eat.After using the bathroom.After handling animals or animal waste.When your hands are dirty.More often when someone in your home is ill.

Other things we can do to prevent spreading illness include covering your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing using a tissue. It is important to dispose of these tissues right away so that germs are not spread to surfaces and picked up by someone else. If you do not have a tissue close by you can also sneeze or cough into the bend of your elbow, if your hands are what catches your cough or sneeze you should wash them immediately. Also, if you are ill it is wise to avoid close contact with others so as to pre-vent the spread of illness. And last it is important that you receive a flu vaccine. Check with your primary care provider to see if you have received this vaccine and to discuss if you should be getting it annually (www.jointcommission.org).

–Nicole Young R.N., CDP

Who doesn’t enjoy going out for lunch? Every month Reflection’s has a trip to a local restaurant where the residents enjoy a tasty meal and good conversation. The month of March we went to the Ninety-Nine. As always, we leave room for some ice-cream!

CNA student Bernis Corona Diaz recently completed his Work Based Learning internship for Shriver Job Corps in Reflections. While his normal tasks include serving lunch and assisting in cleaning up, Bernis brought his guitar and flute in one day to en-tertain the residents. They loved it! Along with playing for them, he also asked them to participate in a sing-a-long. His perfor-mance was approximately 45 minutes long. Kim Landi, Program Director, RN was so pleased with this student and how great he was with the residents. Bernis left his internship with a job appli-cation! Bernis stated that he has been playing the guitar and flute for about 10 years now and hopes to continue putting a smile on the faces of the RiverCourt residents. He says all the women in the audience during his performance were “beautiful”.

Reflections: Staying Active Assisted Living

The Wellness Clinic is held every Friday from

10:30–11:30 in the Fitness Center.

Susan’s CornerOur focus this month is Mother’s Day. This will be a different Mother’s Day for me as it is the first one since my Mom’s passing. I will go and visit her and bring her

“Pink Flowers”. She loved the color pink. I don’t have any real special memory of celebrating Mother’s Day except for one and that was when the youngest in my family was born; a girl that my parents named Maryanne. I remember walking home from church that Mother’s Day and my Mom and Dad were driving by in the car waving. I was nine at the time and my older sister told me that soon we would have either a brother or a sister. At the time my family had two boys and two girls, and my brothers were hop-ing for a boy. Today she is a mother herself with two grown children.My mother was fortunate to have five children, ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. At the funeral her grandchildren said that what they will miss most about their grandmother were her hugs. Because when she hugged it was soft and warm and comfort-ing. So, MY wish for every child this Mother’s Day is that their Mother will hug them and make them feel warm and safe.I will go and find my nieces and hug them and remind them that Grandma loves them. Enjoy your day what-ever it may bring.

Exploring the AreaGroton Historical Society & Museum 172 Main St. 978-448-0092Kimball Farms 400 Littleton Rd., Westford 978-486-3891Gibbet Hill Barn and Trails 61 Lowell Rd.The Groton Public Library 99 Main St. 978-448-1167Fitchburg Art Museum, free passes available at front desk 978-345-4207 The Natural Market 148 Main St. 978-448-5075Bliss Bakery 134 Main St. 978-855-7562Gibbit Hill Grill (American) 61 Lowell Rd. 978-448-2900The Herb Lyceum (New American) 368 Main St. 978-448-6499Filhos Cucina (Italian) 235 Main St. 978-448-5664Main St. Café (Friday Night Entertainment ) 159 Main St. 978-448-9634

BirthdaysMary Ilsley May 9Marjorie Faunce May 10Virginia Kratkiewicz May 14Paul Nyquist May 14Frances Gibson May 16Katherine Gallagher May 18Lois Gilmore May 26

Be like a flower and turn your face to the sun!–Kahlil Gibran

Our feathered friends—a pair of bluebirds visited the bird bath on the back patio of Reflections.

Rita Prouix Rita was born in Lowell and lived there until she was 7. She then went to live with her grandmother in Canada. She returned to Lowell when she was 14. Rita was one of 10 children. She had 4 sisters and 5 brothers. Did you know Rita has a twin sis-ter’s (not identical) named MaryJane? After gradu-ating from high school, Rita did house cleaning and worked in the Boots Mill making clothes for soldiers. She met and married Lionel, and they had 4 children. Rita started doing puzzles after seeing someone else doing a puzzle and thought it looked fun. And, she was right! She loves doing puzzles so much that when her family asks what she wants for gifts, she always says, PUZZLES. Rita has enjoyed working on many puzzles with her son-in-law. On any given day when you go by Rita’s room you will usually find her standing at her puzzle table work-ing hard on her latest puzzle.

Activity Staff Profiles

Ellen JoachimI began working at RiverCourt in June 2008. I was born in Concord, MA at Emerson Hospital. I currently live in Lunenburg. I am married and have 3 grown children; 2 boys and a girl, and 2 grandchildren; a boy and a girl. I am proud to say my youngest son will be gradu-ating this May from Assumption College in Worcester. I grew up in Concord and am the youngest of three. I have really enjoyed con-

necting with some of our residents who are also from Concord.

Deb McGuireI was born and raised in Woburn. My father was in the automobile business and my mother was a re-ceptionist. After graduat-

ing high school, I worked in third district court for several years. I got married and had my 2 sons and stayed at home until they were teen-agers. I now have a wonderful 3 year old grand-daughter. I returned to work in area hospitals for about 17 years in several capacities. I chose to pursue Activities as I enjoyed it so much as a volunteer. I am so happy to be a part of the RiverCourt Family.

Kathy Santiago ADC,CDPI was born and raised in Waltham. I am the youngest of 4 and have 2 sisters and 1 brother. Dad was an English teacher and mom was a clerk at a department store. I married my high school sweetheart and we have 5 children; 2 girls and 3 boys. I now have 2 sons in law that I love and 2 beautiful granddaughters. I was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom while my kids were young and now I am lucky enough to have a job that I love working as the activity director here at RiverCourt.

“RiverCourt Singers” As a monthly activity, the RiverCourt Singers, take a road trip to the Life Care Center in Littleton. Residents from Reflections and AL/IL join us in a sing-a-long with the residents at Life Care. There are former RCT residents that we see along with some who are rehabbing at the facility. It is a great way to get out in the community and share the love of music!

Residents created Easter

eggs painted on bubble wrap and

door hangers out of recycled Easter

cards.

The Easter Bunny came for a visit

Memories of MomThis is a camp poem from Frances Penel-la’s childhood. Southwick Farm was located in Uxbridge, MA.: “We are the girls of Southwick Farm. All the people stare at us whenever we go out. We’re noted for our incidents and clever things we do. Everybody loves us. We hope you like us too.”And also this . . . Fran sat next to a girl in class at Girl’s High in Boston, who was involved in writing comments under class pictures for the 1937 Year Book. Fran told her to write something good about her. She wrote: “Sweet and unas-suming is this Lass who is loved by all her class.”Her sons and I feel she hasn’t changed much.

–The Panella family

Marge Morgan is my mother-in-law. She always used to tell me that her mother-in-law was so wonderful that she hoped she could be half as good a mother-in-law as she was. I don’t believe I could have had a better mother-in-law. She’s been like a second mother to me for 34 years.A couple of cute sayings she used to tell me were 1) When your nose is itchy, it means you’re going to kiss a fool. 2) When you drop a fork, it means company is coming.

–Carol Morgan

One quote that my mother, Dorothy, used was “so what else is new” when describing a favorite routine like when she played bridge every day. One favorite memory for my mother and father was when they would travel to Florida for a month at the end of winter.

–Mike Harrison

Joyce Miles is my mother and my mem-ory of my mother is of her working in her library at Pascack Valley High School and being very efficient and knowing everything!

–Linda Lapham

There were several sayings that Mom was famous for: “To the moon by jet.”

“The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” “Patience is a virtue, possess if you can. Seldom comes to women, never comes to men.” And one of my favorite memories was Mom playing “Whispering Hope” on the piano at home. And, take your elbows off the table or you’ll be married before you’re able” Even her grandsons know this one now! And favorite mem-ory is when she and my father would get all dressed up in evening wear for the annual Christmas dinner dance at their club. They both looked so beautiful and handsome.

–Nancy Faunce and Betsy Faunce Andrews

My favorite Mother’s Day memory is the year I picked up my mum, Maddie Inman, and brought her to an ice cream stand and she not only ordered, but finished an entire banana split! My mum has been a wonderful mother to me my entire life and I’m very grateful to her for that.Even though my mum’s RiverCourt friends didn’t have the opportunity to know my dad, I’d just like to say what a wonderful father he was, and a wonder-ful husband and friend to my mum. He loved to meet new people and had a great sense of humor. They were a great couple and you all would have loved him too!

–Claudia Desrosiers

My mom, [Betty Pletschke, enjoyed] dec-orating cakes and sewing. She sewed my wedding dress.

–BGB

Memories of MomI was a shy child. But Mother [Katherine Gallagher] insisted that I be open to new experiences. She was relentless. “You’re going to try it once. If you don’t like it that’s okay.” Then she would drag me off to try some new activity that she thought might prove to be a good experience. I didn’t want to join Sea Scouts. I’d have to meet all those new kids and deal with an unfamiliar environment. I attended one meeting and never looked back. I learned to sail on a 50-foot wooden schooner. Over the past 55 years I have sailed across oceans and into the high Arctic. I’m so thankful that Mother introduced me to many new experiences.

–Katherine’s loving son, Gary Gallagher

Our parents, John and Madeline Testa, have been married for 66 years—it will be 67 years this July 6th. One of our favorite memories are of Mom and Dad walking on the beach in Florida every morning holding hands - after 60 years of mar-riage! They loved the ocean and we would take many family trips to the beach. Our father would always say “breathe deep” - he loved the ocean air.We also love ice cream, and our father would say, and still says: “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Our Mom still says “It’s nice to be nice.”

–Jeanne Marie Stringos, Jack Testa, and Lori Haugh

One thing Rose says more than anything else, “Are you Irish?”Rose has so many sayings for so many occasions that I’m sure most of the resi-dents of RiverCourt know them: “There’s no place like home.” “Go to bed on time”. And especially: “I saw him first” when talking to any other woman about Joe,

the love of her life and husband of 67 years.. . . Rose and Joe have happily welcomed the newest member of the family, great-granddaughter Charlotte Rose Hogate, born February 20, 2104, named in honor of guess who? When we told Rose that Annie’s baby girl had red hair, Rose said another one of her favorite sayings, Rose’s own nickname as a young girl: “Fire in the Attic!”

–Lorraine Broderick

My mom was definitely known as “the fun one” in our neighborhood. She was the mother most likely to decide at a moment’s notice that we should go to the movies (with store-bought M&Ms hid-den in her purse so we could bypass the concession stand) or head to Kimball’s for banana splits—for dinner! We’d cram as many kids into our car as we could (no carseats or seatbelts required then!) and off we’d go! Now we have to use seatbelts, but my mom is still the inspiration for many an impromptu trip to Kimball’s for gigantic ice cream treats!

–Ellen Olson-Brown

My Mom [Francis Gibson] taught us to grow up tough. . . . Mom was a hard worker, always working to make ends meet for her family. . . . My Mom took care of others always, giving of herself and never thinking of herself first. . . . We did not have much growing up, but we had my Mother’s Love, her ear to hear us with and her examples for us to fol-low. My Mom has always been there no matter what and at 93 she is still here for me. Love you forever Mom and Happy Mother’s Day. –Joanne

Spring is Blooming with the weekly art class. Residents painted flowers and small statues

which they put on the back patio windowsill for all to enjoy.

Special Events and Entertainment at RiverCourt

Massage Therapy ........................................Monday from 1–4

Manicures/Pedicures/Reflexology ...........3rd & 4th Tuesday from 9–3

Tai-Chi .........................................................Thursday’s at 1:15

Steve Stains on Piano ................................5/1 at 2:30

Arts in Bloom .............................................5/2 and 5/3 at 1:00

George Parker on Piano ............................5/5 at 2:30

Jewelry by Diane ........................................5/6 from 10–4

Ceramics with Diane .................................5/7 and 5/21 at 10:45

Resident Council .......................................5/7 at 1:30

Art Class with Linda ..................................5/14 and 5/21 at 10:45

Bach’s Lunch ...............................................5/15 at 12:00

Book Club Meeting ...................................5/15 at 4:00

Ladies’ Luncheon .......................................5/16 at 11:30

On-site Dental Clinic ................................5/20

Men’s Luncheon .........................................5/23 at 11:45

Birthday Party with Heather Marie .........5/27 at 2:30

Dick Sawyer on Piano ...............................5/30 at 2:30

Barracuda: Rick, director of Dining Services, served Barracuda for the first time. All the residents enjoyed the fish and especially talking about it! Barracudas are popular both as food and game fish. They are most often eaten as fillets or steaks.