CHAPTER SEVEN
ADVENTURE AT MAMA CARROLL’S
A time came when I offered the house parents a break, and had Caty stay with me for a week. I took her into the spare bedroom.
“This is your room, and the bathroom is across the hall. It has a shower, and I’ll show you how to turn on the water.” I didn’t hear any response but saw the glimmer of light shining in Caty’s eyes.
Caty went through the nesting process while I prepared lunch, and when I returned, I saw my Pooh Bear layered in three of her shirts. The rest of her possessions lay on the bed in neat piles. It impressed me to see accomplishments, but I would soon take a different view of the visit.
The adventure began when Caty put her dirty clothes into the washing machine, and dumped in Ajax. A day later a full bottle of shower gel stood empty after two showers. I don’t think being clean was her motive for the showers.
Her period began, and I found the paper strips from three Kotex pads lying on the counter. I guess she wanted to be prepared. I watched her with more caution but was secretly pleased to see the initiative she took in taking care of herself.
Caty loved watching movies, so one night I chose “Rudy.”
She rarely commented about what she saw, but pointed to a young woman and declared, “That’s Amy, I know her, that’s Amy.”
Amy worked as a volunteer nurse in the orphanage. I marveled at how Caty went through the mental process of identifying someone she knew with a movie character.
“Yes, it does look like our Amy, doesn’t it?” I said chewing on some popcorn.
I wanted this time to be special for our gal, and remembered a necklace of plastic Christmas lights I had in some stored decorations. I dug it out and showed it to Caty. Encouraged by her smile, I hooked it around her neck and pushed the button to turn on the lights, and then moved her in front of the mirror so she could see the colored twinkles. Bedtime came, and I removed the necklace, promising she could wear it the next day and laid it on the nightstand.
The following day, while sipping my coffee, Caty marched in with the necklace around her neck and the lights aglow. This amazing girl had it all figured out.
The time came for Caty to return to her casita, and I saw an attitude coming on when she refused to pack up her things. So, for an incentive, I told her I’d give her the necklace to keep when we got to the Home. Caty grabbed her bag and climbed into the car quick as lightning. That worked, and off we went.