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BILLINGS MEALS ON WHEELS

from Sept/Oct Edition of Prime Connections

from Sept/Oct Edition of Prime Connections , page 36

Humana can help you choose a M...

MOW Coordinator: Jaime • MOW Assistant: Stacy • 1505 Avenue D • 406-259-9666

Adult Resource Alliance’s Meals on Wheels Program (MOW) offers a hot nutritious meal to those over 60 years of age who are homebound. They are delivered by volunteers, Monday through Friday between 10:00 and 12:30. Meals are available on a short-term basis for persons recovering from a hospital stay or surgery until the person is no longer homebound. If a person is able to prepare their own meals, or lives with someone who can prepare their meals you may be denied.

Graham Beckett drove for Meals on Wheels, almost until his 90th birthday! He came one day in his 68 Oldsmobile convertible 442, and we went out together to deliver Meals on Wheels. It is one of my best memories! I went to his wife, Susan’s memorial service and he shared that before they left on any road trip they would play On the Road Again by Willie Nelson. I also had fun with that song one year when I rewrote the words to fit our MOW drivers, another special memory.

I’m sure you all have a few special memories tucked away of perhaps your first car or riding with your friends during those teen years. What sort of fun things did you do that bring a smile to your face? Take the time to try to remember some of those days! Life is so much better when we reflect on our good memories, and see life in a more positive way.

We have a very sweet lady on our Meals on Wheels Program (who wants NO publicity) but I cannot help but tell you about her. She turned 105 this year. Most often when you deliver her meal, she is sitting in her and near the door ready for a little chat. She has such a positive attitude! What a gift she is to our volunteers, each and every day.

Another one of our special participants is Bess, who has sung our praises, in so many ways, for so many years. She first started coming to the Billings Community Center many years ago when she and her church friends discovered the center while having lunch at Tiny’s Tavern. They decided the center was a little more respectable for church ladies. She attended the different meal sites for 20+years before having to switch to MOW’s due to heart issues that required her to stop driving. She stays in touch by writing notes of appreciation along with an occasional phone call to express her gratitude. Following is a portion of the most recent note I received from Bess.

“To the Alliance, a well-designed pattern!” I want to say thank you to all the daily workers who provide and are faithful in their service. ALL the kitchen crew and delivery people (MOW) are blessings to us homebound people. I have been in hospice care for the last year and received your home meals for over 4 years. I love the food, the cooks and the drivers. Today I am 90 and I am having a great day!”

Bess has a way of looking at life in such a positive way. She is a blessing to us all!

Have you ever sat with someone on their death bed? I was with my dad the last few days of his life and one statement that he made sticks in my memory. “I diddled my life away”.

What will we feel when we are coming to the end of our lives? I now try to listen to what my elders have shared with me. I am trying to do things that make a difference in my world and bring me joy, meaning, and positivity.

As I am drivin’ my life away, I’m lookin’ for a better way for me!

Thankfully, we chose Billings Clinic.

“My mom, Mary, is my biggest supporter and my biggest fan. The morning of her stroke, something felt di erent. God was telling me something was wrong.

I checked on my mom and that’s when she told me she couldn’t move her legs. I rushed over and took her to the Emergency Room at Billings Clinic.

When we arrived, the team told me that my mom was having a stroke. They immediately got her in for a thrombectomy to remove the clot.

A nurse came out and called my name, and it was one of the scariest and best parts of my life. I immediately asked, ‘Is my mom okay?’ And she said ‘yes’ with a big smile.