Virtual connections lead to true friendships
A love of food and shared humour sparks a special friendship.
Cucumber pickles and a shared sense of humour brought Joan and Marji together during an online Wellness for Independence course.
“I was cooking while I was at the virtual class, and everyone seemed to like the look of what I was making” Joan said mischievously. “Our presenter Jan has a playful nature and seemed to relate to Marji and me because we’re both crazy,” Joan laughed.
Marji liked Joan’s jokes and Joan said, “If you like the look of my pickles, I will give you some.” Living near to each other, they arranged to meet for coffee. Marji took some lemons and limes from her garden in exchange for the preserves, and they haven’t stopped talking since.
“We speak every day on the phone, and we never run out of things to say,” Marji said. They see each other a few times a week and both enjoy op shopping and going out for the occasional lunch. “We just have fun,” Marji said.
The pair also share a love of gardening and spend time helping each other out. They both agree that the wonderful thing about their friendship is that it helps to keep them going. If someone is having a bad day, they support each other, but most of the time they are like naughty schoolgirls, having a dig at one another and laughing.
Finding community through Wellness for Independence
Marji says that they both love integratedliving’s Wellness for Independence classes. “They are so informative, and the books that we learn from are a great reference for down the track if you need to refer to subject matter that may help to you.”
Marji and Joan have formed friendships with other classmates as well, and once every month or so they join their former teacher, Jan, and some of the others for lunch and a good chat.
Marji is a self-confessed ‘clean freak.’ “I can be untidy, but everything must be sparkling clean,” she said. Marji is very grateful for the domestic help that she receives funded by her Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), which is set to become part of Support at Home funding. The integratedliving team comes once a month to keep her tiled floors clean. Marji's chronic arthritis has made this job difficult for her.
Joan uses podiatry services from integratedliving, and she loves her iPad which allows her to do the classes online.
Resilience, family and staying connected
Joan and Marji have had their fair share of hardships including marriage breakdowns, having to raise children on their own, and making ends meet. Marji is also a bereaved parent. Her youngest daughter succumbed to metastatic melanoma in 2017, and she nursed her in the last months of her illness.
Joan had a stroke 33 years ago, which she says she has made a pretty good recovery from.
It seems these two women have found a way to enjoy life despite the difficulties they have both endured. Marji’s eldest daughter lives in Melbourne and she sees her often, as well as her five grandchildren. She is all set to become a great grandmother imminently.
Joan has a brother, Gordon who lives in Melbourne and they catch up regularly. Her sister Julie, moved to the UK when she was young and passed away in 2017. Joan’s three children are spread across the country, with a daughter nearby in Ballarat, and sons in Perth and Adelaide. She has six grandchildren.
Since their first meeting over Zoom and their exchange of pickles and citrus, food has continued to be a common thread in Marji and Joan’s friendship. “Joan makes a beautiful cake with my rhubarb and cinnamon recipe, and I do too!” Marji said.