Horses help brighten the life of a local grandmother before Mother’s Day
KATY, Texas - Planning Mother's Day around the pandemic is bringing-out the creativity in a lot of people, including a young lady from Bryan, Texas, who delivered an enormous surprise to her grandmother in Katy.
Gretta Schiefer had one thing in mind for this Mother's Day weekend, besides just celebrating with her beloved mother and stepmother, she wanted to make her grandmother smile.
"I was Facetiming my grandma and riding the horses and she got mad at me and said ‘why don't you just bring those horses down here’ and I said, ‘we'll make it happen,’" laughs Gretta.
Did she ever. It's a gift that keeps on giving, as Gretta turned it into a small parade for all residents at the senior living facility Sunrise of Cinco Ranch to enjoy.
"Animals have always been very beneficial. We have therapy dogs, and employees have brought pets of their own, so animals are very special and they love any visit with animals,” states Janelle Cook, the Activities & Volunteer Director at Sunrise Senior Living. “We're just having to get creative, but they especially appreciate visitors like today with the horses. They just love it. We're fortunate that our resident's granddaughter (Gretta) is willing to brighten their day.”
We also visited with Gretta while she was at Diamond Oak Stables in Bryan with her horses, the "stars of the show".
"This is Jackson and Esther. They're two of my most gentle kind-hearted horses I have, and I love taking them on things like this. They enjoy it as much as I think the residents enjoy seeing them," says Gretta.
Her grandmother sure enjoyed the surprise visit at her window and later even got to step outside for a closer look. Gretta says her beloved grandmother grew up on a farm so being around horses stirs-up her fond childhood memories and makes her happy.
"She's just such an amazing woman and she brings so much joy to everyone's life! She's sassy and she'll tell you how it is and everyone just loves her so much that she's just so much fun to be with. Even the ladies that that work at Sunrise say whenever they're having a bad day, they just go hang out with Edna. She's an amazing woman," exclaims Gretta.
Mother's Day couldn't have come at a better time to remind her how much she's loved.
"Especially right now with COVID-19 going on, she's really just seeking attention and love from her family and it's been so hard on her, because she's in an assisted living home at the moment. And being able to see us through windows and just even at a distance it really, you can just totally tell it just made her day and me bringing the horses, that was just a little extra touch for her, because she loves anything new and different like that," says Gretta.
A big thanks to Sunrise of Cinco Ranch for letting us share in the special moments!