One of the people Frankie and I talk about in our new book is Lyla, and she is one of our favorite residents. As I say that, all the residents really are all our favorites… They each have something unique and special about them that is so endearing.
Lyla just turned 96 years old and every time I see her, I just want to hug her. At our recent book launch I did find out that Lyla’s heritage is German. She never married or had children. My husband met her for the first time at the book launch and said, “She looks like Aunt Clara from Bewitched.” She especially did when she put on this darling mustard wool hat to make her way back to her room.
I laughed and said, “Oh my gosh, you are right! She does!” Bewitched is my all time favorite shows and I have all the shows on DVD. As hard of a time as my husband likes to give me about watching the episodes over and over again, he picked up on the Aunt Clara in Lyla that I didn’t even see. This has made Lyla even more endearing in my eyes.
You cannot understand when Lyla talks and it sort of sounds gibberish with no rhyme or reason. But one day as Frankie was licking and licking her hand, clear as a bell she said, “Kisses.” I looked at Lyla, as my hand flew to my heart and said, “Lyla you just said kisses!” She smiled and went back to her gibberish.
So you see, even though her communication is different than what we are used to, her spirit is alive and well- the healing nature of a therapy dog, like Frankie, brought out the best in her. And the fact she said kisses really warmed my heart. I love it when moments like this happen.
The name of Lyla is not her real name, but changed to protect her privacy.