Yesterday we went to Oakwood, the retirement community for nuns of the Sacred Heart, to visit "Ann's Nun" Sister Claire Saizan. Sister Saizan is hilarious, she is 97 years old and full of life and commentary. She came to Oakwood (on the Sacred Heart campus where I went to High School) to retire five years ago from Sacred Heart Convent in Grand Coteau, Lousiana when my sister Ann was an exchange student at the Lousiana school for a semester her junior year. Ann would visit Sister when she came back to Sacred Heart Menlo and has continued to visit her since, along with Jannie who takes her out for rides sometimes.

We thought Sister would like to meet the baby so we took her over for a visit Tuesday after my Mommy/Baby Playgroup and lunch (12 strollers around a table, poor waitress!) Sister loved meeting Francie, but thought we should only be calling her by her given name of "Mary Frances." The nuns were all quite excited to see a baby in the halls and all stopped to say hi... Sister asked, or sort of demanded, each nun to "give her your blessing" so Mary Frances left with lots of holiness. Sister got a little upset that so many people were sharing her time so she asked us to close the door so she could have Mary Frances all to herself.

My mom always asked sister if she could buy her a nice walker (with brakes and wheels and a seat!) like my grandmother, Marmar, had. Sister always said no becuase it was against the vow of poverty, even though her walker was falling apart and hard for her to use. When Marmar died my mom brought her old walker to Sister and told Sister it would mean a lot to her if she would use it and pray for my Grandmother... this seemed acceptable to Sister so she has my grandmothers walker that Jan is sitting in here with Mary Frances. Sister has her name all over it so none of the other nuns will mistake it for theirs.