Pineridge Blog

Blog by Mary Jo Misner

We need a world full of Grace.

Sometimes things are not as they appear. We all know that and if we take an opportunity and run with it (I don’t run much anymore) we might not understand, but it can enrich our lives. It all depends upon what we decide to do with it.

When the Pen Pal program began, it seemed it would be fun during a pandemic, since new friends are always welcome, if not in our home but in our hearts.

When I learned who my Pen Pal was, I thought there had been a mistake when I saw the age. I love having friends of all ages and I also love getting letters. I cannot think of a more suitable match-up than an 80-year-old woman and a 12-year-old young lady. And the match has been wonderful. Today we spent a few hours together painting. And we plan to do it again. When we met, she told me she didn’t have any artistic talents, but she sketched a picture for me on the back of her next letter and I knew she had a great deal of creativity.

I have always loved to paint but never had time. I sketched things and tossed them. But in September 2013, I fell and broke my right wrist. The left hand was what a friend’s mother called “a pusher”-- the only value was that it pushed everything to the right hand.

I do not know why a broken wrist would bring to mind painting, but it did. I had to learn to use my left hand. I needed agility, so I purchased supplies and started painting everything I saw. I noticed that my left-handed paintings were better than the right. So, I painted as a leftie. Sometimes I switched back and forth.

Make whatever you might of my little story but when I tell people that I learned to do my one and only backflip at the age of 73, I sometimes get a chuckle.

My life has been enriched in so many ways and I am grateful for all opportunities. So come visit and I will take you to what my 5-year-old great-grandson calls “GG’s messy paint room” and we will paint awhile.

God is watching over us and I suspect that sometimes he gives us a smile.