Touched by Nancy and Sharilynn
by Jodi McConnell, longtime volunteer
Nancy and Sharilynn are two very special people in my life. I first met Sharilynn and Nancy when I started volunteering at the Farmhouse. I would come 2 times a week (sometimes more) at 5:30 a.m. to get Nancy up for school. I never laughed so much at such an early hour in my life! I know that Nancy does not like mornings but we always found something to make us laugh. I would be transferring Nancy and something would “crack her up”. I would then start to laugh as well and she would lose her grip and slowly slide down my body to the floor.
Nancy touched a place in my heart that has seldom been touched. I was privileged to work closely with Nancy at the time of her first Person Centered Planning. Together we would wrestle with the questions about how she would like to spend her time, the work she’d like to do…listening to her hopes, her dreams and desires. Her dreams for herself were amazing! Because she dared to 
dream about the things she could not do, she encouraged me to be brave and to do the things I knew I could do.
My relationship with Sharilynn has continued to grow over the past few years. I am her “hot dog buddy” because I cook lunch each Thursday at Noah’s Workshop. Sharilynn frequently asks about my friend who happens to be my husband, Bob. She prays for my son and is always there to “love me up” when I need a hug. We often paint her fingernails and she loves to show me the latest addition to her room. On the days we go shopping, she tells me what station to tune in on the radio (KJR). Then as the music starts, her fingers snap, her feet tap and we sing and laugh together all the way down the street.
I can’t imagine my life without these two special women!