STARKVILLE — Every other Tuesday at about 8:30 a.m., Shelly Kelly, 36, drives to Montgomery Gardens, the assisted living residence on Old Highway 12, and gives about 15 residents manicures. Sometimes residents invite her to stay for lunch. She refuses to take compensation for her services other than hugs and kisses. Residents tell her they love her.
Kelly, who calls herself “a stay-home mom,” has three children, all of whom attend Starkville Academy: Douglas, 8; and Madeline and Jillian, who are 6-year-old fraternal twins. Each time Kelly has gone to Montgomery Gardens this summer, she has been brought Douglas or the girls. The children agree the excursion is fun.
She began volunteering at the residence in November. She has already forgotten how she spent the time before she started going.
How did you start volunteering at Montgomery Gardens?
Actually, my Sunday school class. I”m in Caring Christians Sunday school class at First United Methodist Church, and Candy (a coordinator at Montgomery Gardens) is also in my class, and she and I were talking about something that we could do with the ladies and the men up there to, you know, it”s like a Sunday school project.
So I just told her one time that I would love to come up and do nails sometime, and so I went, and I did it the first time, and then I said, “Well, let”s do it again!”
And so I started off doing it just a few times, and now we just go ahead and have it on the schedule every other week.
I heard that you had been doing manicures before. What was the story?
I went to nail school in, oh, goodness, 1991, I guess, and got my license, and then, um, I worked at several different places, and then eventually in … 1996, I opened my own shop in Jackson. And, anyway, so I did nails until Douglas was about six months old. And then I stopped, and stayed home with him. And so this is kind of a way for me to do what I really like doing.
I really do enjoy it. It”s kind of like I can go back to doing it a little bit, and, you know, have a good time with it, instead of feeling like I have to fill my schedule with appointments and not have the flexibility, so I do it just because I like it, I guess.
How old are the residents?
Oh, gosh. I would say anywhere from late 60s to well into their 80s. I know there”s one lady that”s 88. And she”s very spry, I mean, very healthy. …
Would you call them your friends?
Oh, yes. Most definitely.
Any in particular?
Oh, gosh, yes, there”s so many, but I”d hate to say their names, simply because I would feel like I was leaving somebody else out that was also important to me.
But yeah, I just hug ”em and kiss ”em and they tell me they love me, and I tell ”em I love them. They”re just so sweet.
If you want to know the truth, for me, doing their nails is totally secondary. I mean, just spending time with them is, like, my primary I won”t say goal, but the thing that I enjoy the most.
Do you find yourself talking to them more, or do you find yourself listening more?
Oh, I listen to them. I mean, they ask me questions about my family and things like that, but I totally listen to them. They”re so wise, and they are just so sweet, and … so funny.
And they”ll ask me questions about my family or my husband, Davis, or you know, they”ll say, “I”ll tell you what you need to do.” They”ll say, “I was married for 55 years, and I”ll tell you what you need to do to make your marriage last,” and, you know, I always welcome advice from them, anytime I can get it. …
… I know you”re supposed to give without getting anything in return, you”re supposed to give and not worry about recognition or anything like that, which I certainly do not expect …. But it is totally selfish, because I love it. For some reason if I could not do it anymore, I would be upset. Like, I would be upset not to see them anymore.
But, plus, I want my children to see that, you know, it”s nice to give to other people. I think it”s really important for them to know that I go to Montgomery Gardens and I do those ladies” nails, because I enjoy it, but also because it”s the right thing to do. You know, to do something for somebody else.
Tell me about the colors they want.
Um, I probably have 50 percent that do natural colors, and the other 50 percent, red, bright oranges, … the more vibrant colors. It”s probably half and half.
But their color”s so much their personality too … you know the ones that are gonna get the bright red. And, you know, the ones that are gonna get the — not saying anything bad about neither one of them, but they”re just — some of them are more demure. …
There”s a couple little firecrackers over there that get a light color that you would not expect to get a light color. You didn”t expect (for her) to get fire-engine red.
Have they made you want to do something before you get older?
I can”t think of anything in particular ….
Most of the ladies there obviously have lost their spouses, and that”s sad, because you know that — I mean, they talk about them all the time, and how wonderful their marriage was, and how much they miss them, and most all of them still wear their wedding rings, and maybe that makes me appreciate, you know, the time I have with my husband now. And there are a few men there that have lost their wives.
Do you do any of their nails?
I have …. There”s one man that I do. Occasionally, but not every time. But if he walks in and sees me there, he”ll say, “OK, it”s time for me to get my nails done.”
What does he get?
Oh, nothing. I just file, and sometimes I”ll put some oil on his cuticles, or, like, I”ll do a clear gloss or something, you know. …
How long do you think you”ll continue to do this?
Oh, as long as I can.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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