MARGO & VISIT WITH THE WHEELERS

Bats, Pat, and Mercy at the Wheeler South Natick home.

​MARGO & VISIT WITH THE WHEELERS
 
         Pat and I drove to Maine last weekend together with our daughter, Margo—who drove most of the 1,300 miles. We had a wonderful four days with her and she said she’d like to visit my Twin Sister, Mercy and her husband, Bats since she was flying back home from Boston, and we visited the Wheelers at their charming home on the Charles River in South Natick.
Margo attended Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts, class of 1982. Since Dana was just a few miles from Mercy and Bats Wheeler, Margo spent lots of weekends with them. Dana turned out being a great school for both Margo and later for our daughter, Tina, class of 1987. I was fortunate to be asked to serve on the Dana Hall board of trustees while our girls were there.
         Margo looks back fondly at her Dana days with the added advantage of spending so much time with the Wheelers making it an even better high school experience.
Mercy developed a serious infection in a disc in her back. Fortunately an excellent Boston doctor—Borenstein(?)—diagnosed Mercy’s problem and sent her home with an eight-week pick-drip bringing drugs to the problem. Bats Wheeler has had COPD for a while so both of them had a rough winter. We were delighted to visit them and found them in super spirits.
         Mercy is much improved. She has been a dynamo since we shared a crib together so many years ago. She is a champion tennis player—the sport she and another New Englander won a match in Texas for 80 and older women just two years ago. She is, however, her usual dynamic self although she admits that, “I’m a changed person as a result of this experience.” Their new dog, Pepper, is bringing great joy to them and Mercy, Bats, Pepper, and I walked a mile in a nearby park.
         Someone once said, “Old age is not for sissies.” Those of us in our 80s can vouch for that. Hearing both Mercy and Bats’ talk about their experiences this winter made us feel it was so important that we’d visited them. We also made firm plans for the Wheelers to visit us in Maine this July and we hope to visit them on Cape Cod in August.
         Mercy and Bats are very special people. We were delighted to see their daughter, Emily and close friends, Barbara and Jake Brown, we enjoyed a delicious lobster casserole and vegetable masterpiece We talked about both the past (remembering Mercy’s thespian roles) and the present (including some politics) and all of us remarked at how fortunate, indeed, we were to be there together