My Aunt - The Unknown Artist of Manor Care

My Aunt Phyllis is a resident at the nursing home, Manor Care, in Sunbury. She lives in a small portion of a shared room with two other residents. She has not wanted to stay there but unfortunately her physical needs make this a necessary home for her. She has always been so sweet and very shy. Her mind is still sharp and the days at the home have been long for her. She and my mother were very close and we spent much time together with her and her family as I was growing up. When I attended Susquehanna, she would often help me with my laundry in a time when Laundromats didn't exist and the college only had a few washers and dryers for the entire student body. Outside of her love and care for her family, we never knew that she had other interests and hobbies. But apparently some folks at Manor Care, looking for something to give her to do, discovered that she enjoyed working with colored pencils and crayons. They began to give her pictures to color and she loved it. Her son noticed that she had begun to accumulate a small collection of pictures that she had colored. Then one day he noticed that the pictures had disappeared except for the one that she was working on. Upon inquiring, the staff told him that they would be part of the Manor Care Art Show. What he didn't know was that her work was the entire show. And when they came to attend the show they discovered that Aunt Phyllis had all of her work on display and they even had wine and cheese just as they would at most art shows. She was even presented with a special award and her picture was taken for the local newspaper. What a special honor and a special night for her. I wish we had known about it and could have been there. It is special that the folks at Manor Care found something that she could do to keep her mind sharp and help her pass the long hours of every day. Homes like this can be such a depressing place. Now I admit that we have been surprised and have laughed about this situation. For you see, her nephew, Tom Wise is a well known professional painter who gets thousands for his work. He frequently has public shows and his work is impressive. So, maybe it is the Wise genes. Unfortunately, if it is they missed me. My mother would have loved this event and I can just imagine her and Aunt Phyllis and their sister, Anna, sharing and enjoying this special event. They always enjoyed being together. They would have enjoyed coloring together and laughing together and sharing stories. I wonder if there will be time for art in heaven.