An Early Christmas Joy

Christmas time's a coming! Golden ladies can't wait to share the joyful spirit with family and friends, strangers and acquaintances, children and elderly. On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, Lydia, Linda, Kate, Virginia and I dressed in red and white to visit Northern Region Senior Citizens' Home located between Hsien-tien and Wu-lai, December 3rd.

As soon as we walked into the lobby of the care center, we started working hand-in-hand with five volunteers from Hsin-tien. We first played games with the wheelchair ridden elderly to exercise their hands and minds. Kate and Linda visited this nursing home for the first time, they mingled with the caretakers, volunteers and elderly instantly.

After the warm-up for a half hour, ten ladies joined hands to present an ad-lib singing and dancing show for 45 minutes. Kate, Lydia, Linda and I performed two Christmas clogging dances (Sleigh Ride and Country Christmas) and one Japanese dance Nanagasa Ondo (Flowery Hats). We couldn't feel more satisfying to see a full house of senior citizens with big smiles on their faces when we said goodbye and wished each and every resident of the nursing home "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year".

Being a local in Hsin-tien, I was obliged to introduce a nice place to my golden ladies friends whenever possible. We went to Celebrities Riverside Cafe' near the nursing home. The name of the cafe' simply prompted me to think of ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) of Edo Period. Even the interior design of kaiseki restaurant was full of Japanese Ambience, tatami, bamboo shades, futon mattress and low tables.

On a cozy afternoon, we chatted over coffee with the complimentary desserts on the house, sitting on the veranda overlooking Hsin-tien River flowing in the mountains. As always, Virginia is our happy "nut", she never fails to make us laugh. Whenever she is around, we tell jokes. Today is no exception. Being a witty musican, Virginia is blessed with good ears. Every word could turn into an intriguing pun when Virginia gave it a new interpretation, a new life so to speak. It was phenomenal to see five flowery middle-aged women laughing loudly and happily in a remote coffeehouse on a weekday afternoon.

It was dark when Lydia gave us a lift back to Taipei. Linda gave each of us a bag of kumquat fruits from the roof garden of her factory. They are the best medicine to keep the cold away in the winter. What would have been a better day otherwise at the beginning of this auspicious December? Golden ladies toastmasters shared the early christmas joy with the elderly and shared the golden friendship among us.