Happy 83rd Birthday to Diane!

We all had a wonderful time during our Christmas party. Santa came for a visit and brought gifts for all our residents. Follow us on Facebook - Bickford of Tinley Park for more Christmas party pictures.

Last night we had a gun time driving through Tinley Park admiring the decorated Christmas houses.

Thank you to Monica from 'Angels Grace Hospice' for making gingerbread houses with our residents.

The first woman to join an all-men's baseball team, Carol Doherty, is one of our newest residents here at Bickford. When welcoming Carol into her new home, she had a lot to say as she introduced herself. The way it all happened is quite a funny story. As Carol sat at her kitchen table, flipping through the newspaper and searching for a babysitting gig, she came across an ad for a men's baseball team. Although the ad specified that it was an all-men's team, Carol went all in and contacted the manager regardless, asking if there were any women on the team. He replied with, "No, but bring your glove and try out anyway." A few weeks later was Carol playing as the star catcher (since no one else wanted to do the "bending and swooping")! The team was lucky enough to have Carol for two years until an unfortunate accident during a game which resulted in a torn ACL, ending Carol's baseball career. Though, two more women felt inspired enough to join the team after Carol's great influence. Not only was Carol a star catcher on the men's team, but she had previously played on a women's softball team for 10 years, as well as coaching teenage girls to play. Behind her beauty hid Carol's humor; she had a few tricks up her sleeve. As they prepared to verse an opposing team, Carol pitched two "softballs" at them. These "softballs" were actually grapefruits spray-painted white... The other team had no idea what was coming their way! Aside from the sports, though, Carol really enjoyed spending time with children. Eventually, Carol received a babysitting job through the local church with a family of seven. Out of the five children, four were quadruplets. Can one imagine babysitting four kids of the same age? Once a week, she volunteered and cared for the kids, although these kids were a burden due to their misbehavior. Carol even recalls bribing them with M&M's in order to get them dressed, or else there was no possible way they would ever cooperate! After a full year of coming home exhausted, she decided it was enough babysitting for her. This sneak peek into Carol's story allowed us to see some of her sporty, humorous, and loving personality. Carol later gave birth to three kids and raised them in Massachusetts, but has been in Illinois for eleven years now. It has been four weeks since her moving into Bickford, and we are very excited to make amazing memories with Carol in the future. Written By Sara Shalash (Volunteer)

Happy 83rd Birthday to Diane!