Adopted grandma

We had a senior missionary couple serving in our ward; he was a retired school teacher, and matched Carole up with an older sister in the ward to go and read aloud to her.  Carole's 3rd grade teacher required his students to keep a reading log and to read for 30 minutes a day.  Her first reaction to that was, how can anybody read for a whole half hour?

This requirement was a blessing, because it brought her over the hump from ten minutes of effort with picture books into chapter books, but a good part of that was the inspired match-up with Jeanne Jordan.  Brother Tenney supplied the books, and a china doll as an incentive when they finished a certain number of books,  and Sister Jordan supplied the delight.  They read the Boxcar Children series, for an hour twice a week.

I dropped her off and picked her up; I didn't go in except to get her to the right apartment the first couple of times.  I was neither participant nor spectator--this was Carole's time, and it became Carole's special relationship, though the whole family adopted Jeanne as it continued.  We put her on our list for going caroling at Christmas, and she's still on it--our numbers have diminished as our children have left, but even if we don't  have Carole home anymore, the two of us will still go sing to her, without fail.  The only year we missed, we were all sick, and didn't go at all.

Twice a week dropped to once eventually, and the Tenneys were gone, but Carole's hour with Sister Jordan continued.  Carole now had the reading bug and introduced her to Harry Potter--as the movies came out, we would buy them and loan them to Jeanne if her daughter hadn't taken her.  That was okay for the first three books, but then....Do you have any idea how long it takes to read Goblet of Fire at one hour a week?  A horribly long time, months, and Jeanne said after that, she would just wait and watch the movies--Carole could tell her the stories of the books as she finished them, but it was too hard to wait for what happened next.  (Carole, by the way, read all the Potter books multiple times.)

These reading visits switched to the Father Tim (Mitford)* mysteries, Jeanne's favorites, and only ended with the start of Carole's junior year of high school, when she simply couldn't manage the time.  But seven and a half years cemented an unbreakable bond between them, and what a delight it has been.

*corrected--I had the wrong rector, originally



This is her face on our fridge; her daughter had photo magnets made for her 90th birthday celebration last year.  Her hair is finally completely gray, but not white--she definitely doesn't come from our family, where my grandmother's hair was white by the time she was forty.

Carole is all grown up now, but she came down recently so that we could go visit Jeanne and get some pictures of the two of them.

 Jeanne has post-polio syndrome and needs a scooter these days--when we first knew her she could get around anywhere with a walker, but she doesn't have the strength or stability anymore to manage without her electric wheels.  She is not quite 4'10" so standing or sitting, she's still small.  Her eyesight is pretty bad now, but her cheery spirit has not failed at all.  She found the gospel after her kids were grown and her husband gone, but his temple work is done, they have been sealed, and she has no fear about leaving this earth and joining him whenever the Lord calls.

They have way too much fun together, as you can see.  Actually, it's hard not to have fun with Jeanne.

(This pic came out a little unfocused, but way too great to skip.)

May we all have a Jeanne in our lives.