Editor’s note: This is part two of three of Sharing Stories-A Life Review project which will be highlighted at the upcoming Senior Resource Fair to be held on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 8 a.m. to noon.
FARMINGTON – Sharing Stories—A Life Review is a unique project underway by Steven Quackenbush, a professor of psychology at the University of Maine at Farmington, Karol Maybury, a UMF associate professor of psychology and their participating students. The ongoing project explores the role played by stories in understanding ourselves and sharing our lives with others. Each participating volunteer senior storyteller brings “an ideal opportunity to celebrate life in its richness and complexity,” Quackenbush said.
In this second interview, Sherry Jenckes, 67, of Farmington, was asked to recall the single most important experience in her moral development. That is, what experience did she believe has had the greatest impact on the values she holds today?
Jenckes, a career bookkeeper for an insurance agency and a massage therapist, responded with: “It really was in raising my children in the community. I think I was always a fairly independent person and kind of went through life thinking, ‘You go through life doing most everything independently,’ or ‘you, as parents, are solely responsible for raising your kids and living your life.’
“As I began to raise my children it occurred to me, particularly when they became the ages that they wanted to be involved in other things in the community, that it was really important to have other people in their lives. I realized I wasn’t raising my children alone. It sounds very cliché, but it fits perfectly that it does take a village to raise a child. It was this realization that there were so many people involved in raising my children—whether it was teachers, coaches, choir directors, scout leaders, or people who would help drive them places.
“That was a shift for me because I realized that there were so many other people giving to the raising of my children and I wanted to be part of that, too. It took me out of this central place of, ‘these are my kids, my responsibility, and I can do this myself,’ to a more communal child-raising experience where we all did what we could to help raise them.
“That was a significant experience for me not just in child-raising but because it was also a place in my life when I realized for myself that community was so important, and that so much more could be done if people worked together and shared responsibilities. It wasn’t all up to me or any individual; no one goes through this life getting it all done alone. That’s the place in my life where that change happened and it’s continued to be part of my value system.”
In response to the question of “If you could describe this experience to a young adult, what lesson would you like them to learn, Jenckes said, “You’re not living this life alone. Community is extremely important not only because other people can participate in and help you in your life, but also because you have the opportunity to do that for others. I was also realizing around that time that everyone has something to give.”
The Senior Resource Fair set for Saturday, Oct. 1, will open with a free buffet breakfast from 8 to 9 a.m. at Chef’s Table on the Mt. Blue Campus. The breakfast will be catered by the Culinary Arts program students of the Foster Career Technology Education Center.
Two other seminars at the Senior Resource Fair on Oct. 1 are “Scams in Franklin County” and “Living Courageously and Outrageously” which will provide seniors with an overview of all of the opportunities and challenges that face seniors, as they grow older. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the event.
The free event is geared for seniors 55 and older who are interested in learning more about all of the agencies that serve Franklin County and to become familiar with programs and services they provide. Family members and caregivers are encouraged to participate so they can gather information and provide guidance for their loved ones as they grow older and are in need of support.
Vendors providing information include: SeniorsPlus, Franklin Community Health Network Education Department, Western Maine Community Action, Western Maine Transportation, United Way, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Farmington Police Department, Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, Franklin Savings Bank, and Senior Planning Center.
Funding for the fair is provided through a Thriving in Place grant administered by MeHaf, Maine Health Access Foundation, and sub-sponsored by SeniorsPlus.
