Audrey Mae SpencerSpencer Historical CemeteryHenry Straight / William Spencer Family Cemetery
Vaughn Historical CemeterySpencers of East Greenwich, RI

Monthly Archives: May 2005

14 May 2005

Audrey’s granddaughter, Melissa Ann MacDonald receives her Master’s Degree:

Melissa Ann MacDonald

Audrey’s granddaughter

Friday, May 13, 2005

Graduation Ceremony

Received her Master’s Degree

in Community Counseling

with a certificate

Substance Abuse and Addiction Counseling

The College of New Jersey

15 May 2005

Audrey attended her granddaughter, Hannah Katherine MacDonald’s preformance at the Stadium Theater in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

(Douglas drove Mother, Lisa, Meagan and Julie to the show.  Mother was awake though 90% of the show.)

“Hannah has a nice voice!”

(They got back to Kent Regency around 10:30 PM.  Mother was pretty sleepy by then, says Doug.)

17 May 2005

Heather’s continuing monthly visits with Mother because of availability of FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) through her work as a CA state employee:

(On Tuesday morning, Mother ate a great breakfast. She loves French toast and syrup and also ate quite a bit of Cream of Wheat. When lunch came, she said:  “I’m full” even before I started to feed her.  Instead she ate a couple of oatmeal cookies that I made using her favorite recipe. I baked them in California and carried them on the plane to Rhode Island for her.

Later in the day, Jean Martin came to visit Mother and she suggested I purchase sun catchers for Audrey’s window in place of the outside bird feeders that Mother loved. Later in the day while Audrey was sleeping, I went out and purchased sun catchers of bird shapes.

Tuesday evening, Mother, Margaret–another Kent Regency resident–and I had a poetry reading session.  Mother recited The Owl and the Pussy Cat with much help from me. She seemed concerned that she was doing so badly.  I explained to her that we all have days when we are not as sharp as other days.)

18 May 2005

Heather not keeping good records of dates of conversations:

“I feel terrible.”

(Heather:  Does, your back hurt, Mother?)  “No, I just feel miserable everywhere.”

(Later that day, I asked Mother if she wanted to lie down.)   “I’m fine.”

(Sunday, date not recorded)

“Your tongue fits in your mouth good.”  (Heather: Thank you, Mother.  I do have a pretty smile.  My teeth are really pretty.  I am so glad I put braces on them when I was young. I was told by doing that I could keep my teeth for the rest of my life.)

(Monday, date not recorded)

(Heather:  How come you are so sweet?”)  “Oh dear, I don’t know.”

(Heather: A penny for your thoughts?)  “I wonder how much my thoughts are worth?”

(Heather: Another penny for your thoughts?)  “What are my thoughts? “When chapman billies leave the street, and drouthy thursty neebors neebors meet, [reciting Robert Burns’ Tam O’Shanter as Audrey was getting out of bed]. “Dawn, I’m hurting.”

19 May 2005

Another conversation with Mother in the summer or fall of 2005:

“Cows in the pasture!  Have you called Mother?”

(Mother reverted back to when she was a child on the farm. She became very concerned that the cows were in the pasture or the horse(s) were out of the barn. Her tremendous concern and her need to get help with the animals let me realize how different life on the farm was from life today. As late as the early twentieth century if the horse(s) and cow(s) were gone, there would be no food source, no transportation and no way for the farmer to make a living. What a different childhood my mother had from the children today.)

28 May 2005

Douglas arriving later than usual and Mother had already been fed so Vickie, Mother’s nurse seeing Doug, amusingly said “Do you want a visitor?” Mother had been weeping and when Doug stood in front of Mother, she looked at Doug with a puzzled look and asked:

“What’s his name?”

(Vickie said “It starts with D.”)  “DOUGLAS!” (Audrey shouted with glee.)

(Douglas and Mother strolled around the outside of the facility for some time.)

29 May 2005

Douglas continuing his visit with Mother:

(Mother was drawing in the drawing pad that Doug brought with him.

Later in the day, Douglas drove Mother and Deardra to visit Luane (née Cahoon) McDonald and her mother, Anna Jane (née Spencer) Cahoon.”)