At the age of 98, Uniting AgeWell Andrew Kerr Care Community resident Heather Easterby never imagined she’d spend the day dressed like a butterfly and flapping her wings.
But when a toddler at The Herd Intergenerational Learning Centre fished out butterfly wings and a black cap from a dress-up box, and asked her to put it on, she found herself pretending to fly.
“I told my friends all about it at dinner and how funny it will be when the little ones pick out a hilarious pink and yellow wig I spotted in the box for me to try on,” Heather laughs. “It does your heart good to hear everyone’s stories.”
Heather is one of the many residents filled with a new zest for life since the opening of the child care centre under the same roof earlier this year.
She’s one of the “grand friends” as the children call the residents, who volunteers to regularly come together with the children to share scheduled activities, including art, music and storytelling.
The residents can also visit a special lounge space whenever they want to watch the children play and there are opportunities for spontaneous interactions, like when the baby buggy spins around the home for a visit, bringing sunshine and smiles with them.
And Heather is just loving the “new vibe” in the home. “I’m having such fun! I was reading to a little boy and then he pointed to some bubbles, so I started blowing them with him which he loved.” Her eyes grow misty, “And when he put his plump little arms around me and hugged me, well … my heart just melted.”
She also loves how honest children are. “A few years ago, I was using my walker to cross the road, and a little boy asked me why I was walking so funny. His mother was very embarrassed, but I just laughed. Children say just what they feel.”
Heather does too sometimes!
She was born in the UK but is not sure how she feels about receiving a 100th birthday card from King Charles. “Charles is very nice, but I’ve always said that if Camilla’s face is on the card, I’ll end up becoming a Republican,” she laughs.
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