Writing Contest:
My Favorite Mount Pleasant Moment

And the Winner is......

Olivia Caffrey!

Thank you to Olivia and our 2nd and 3rd place winners who took the time to recollect and record their favorite Mount Pleasant Home Moment. We encourage others who would like to submit a memorable moment to do so! Yours might end up on our website!

Last  Thanksgiving morning, I put on serious galoshes and two hats, determined to make the half hour walk alone in the hail and bitter cold to Mount Pleasant Home, a 100-year old residence for seniors in Jamaica Plain. But it was my choice not to go “home home” in November. Not everyone has the luxury of an option to go home on the holidays.

I felt pretty awkward at first. I felt like I was trespassing in someone’s stately living room and violating these decent people’s privacy, my bleeding heart staining their heirlooms.  I was scared of the loneliness and depression  I would encounter and if it would remind me of my own.

It was simple enough—pour coffee and teat in double cups for residents and offer them cookies, minding the diabetics. And if you would be so kind, talk with some of them, they would really like that.

The residents came gradually floating into coffee hour, filling the upholstered couches and elaborate chairs. I had just woken up and stepped into this other world that I was catering. Even with my six years as a waitress and two as a mental health counselor, I managed to put teabags in the hot coffee and be at a sudden loss for words!

Yet, I was determined to do my job and to have a good time doing it!

“This coffee is good. This coffee is really good. This coffee is good,” said a resident. 

I have to say, I had such a rich experience that one day at Mount Pleasant Home. I got to see how some other halves live and met some amazing adults with amazing stories. Taking the time to stop and talk with these folks was exponentially rewarding.

I met a very articulate, engaging woman with agile humor named Thelma. I later found out she is writing a book; she never mentioned it. I met a very old woman who you couldn’t understand unless you knew her or sat quite close and were very patient.

I met a man who whispered loudly that I was not as pretty as the last volunteer! Shocked, but not dismayed, I served him more coffee. I had to realized I might be a one-hit volunteer and could not steal all their hearts!

I also met another woman who randomly broke into ragtime singing. One man called me Catherine O’Hara and asked me when my next movie was coming out. I saw some very handsome old men. How some people keep such symmetry and calm in their face… a mystery.

Some residents made comments like they knew me for ages and were from the same era. Some thought I was too slow with the coffee. Some were so quiet, I wanted to hug them or make them laugh. Others seemed amused by my polite questions as if they weren’t used to outsider conversation. Still other elders managed to repeat stories over and over to me, which in turn helped me remember them! 

I wonder if they know how fascinating their simple stories are and how wealthy they are in their wisdom. It would be cool to further interview residents so all that history could be shared and not forgotten.

It was sad for some of the residents of course because some have no family. That is why they are here. Who will drink tea with me when I’m gray and gay (in the old way)?

Well, a grand turkey dinner with all the trimmings was planned for the family of residents. The residents all seemed to know each other’s business and seem to look out for each other in their ways. They seemed close to the director as well who was working that day and then going home to cook a turkey dinner for her own entire extended family.

There is somehow a community in this Mount Pleasant Home. There was a nasty storm with bizarre hail and when I left, the sun was shining and it was warmish!

I was so lit up from getting through the Thanksgiving storm and my fears of the unknown. I am glad I started out a day meant for family and being grateful at the local coffee hour with some special neighbors. I recommend volunteering here whether or not you have a home for the holidays.

 Thank you, Olivia!