Bobbie Hood has been living at Crestview in Assisted Living for roughly two years. She initially came to Crestview to recover from a hip fracture, spending time in the skilled nursing program to get therapy. While Bobbie was eager to get back to her home in Boerne, her kids felt she should live in a senior living community, specifically one closer to them. She was against the idea at first. After all, she had lived on her own in the Hill Country for fifteen years after her husband passed and hoped she could return to that way of life. Instead, the kids urged her to transition to an Assisted Living apartment at the community.
Soon, she would come to realize the kids were on to something. “Now, I wouldn’t change it. It’s been wonderful! Everything here is just perfect! Even though I could live independently, I don’t want to because there is always somebody here. You always have friends to visit with, you have help if you need help, and you are never alone!”
When navigating the transition, Hood opted for a larger apartment that would provide her with a spare room to use as a sewing room. Walking into the room is like stepping into a rainbow of color with beautiful fabrics and threads, neatly organized in every square foot of space, along with a table and sewing machine, always at the ready. Hood has always engaged in the hobby as a source of purpose, taking on sewing projects that allowed her to give back to others in her community. She knew it would be important to find ways to get involved with similar charities that would keep her busy and personally fulfilled in her new home too.
It didn’t take long before she found Project Linus, a charity that is named after the Peanuts character who would drag around his little blue blanket. With chapters in every state, the organization has delivered over 10,000,000 blankets since they began in 1995 to those between 0-18 years old who have suffered a trauma, are seriously ill, or are otherwise in need. These blankets provide comfort to these individuals. The origin story for Project Linus began when the charity’s founder read about a three year old named Laura who was going through chemotherapy who found comfort in her special “blankie.”
“I do plain sewing, but there are some ladies who do crochet or knitting. Some make bigger quilts but I make the ones that are about 45 inches square with pillow cases. It is just something that gives some comfort for somebody,” she explained.
Hood is quick to point out that her mindset shifted from not wanting to make the move, to being exceedingly happy that she did. She shared, “When you actually do it, I don’t think you’ll regret it. I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute I have been here.” She went on to say that her favorite thing has been the fellowship and camaraderie saying, “We are all here for some reason, the reasons vary, but we need each other and what I need may be very different from what they need. Just to know that someone is here that understands and cares!” All in all, she submits that living in an Assisted Living community wasn’t exactly what she thought it would be like, “It’s been an education,” she said laughing.
Perhaps the most interesting ironies of her story is the blankets made in her Assisted Living apartment didn’t only bring comfort to the children, but they were a source of comfort for her as well, navigating one of life’s biggest adjustments while finding purpose, fellowship, and joy...all stitched together with love.
