My Story - The Inspiration

In 1982, I was introduced to the woman that would be my first client. Matilda B., the first woman lawyer in Baltimore, needed some help around the house and just to have some extra companionship. I was in high school and had the honor and privilege to provide her with the help she needed. I continued to care for her through college. How I helped her as she aged in place (a term not used in the 80’s) changed. I began driving her to hair appointments, doctor appointments etc. One of my most favorite memories was the day I picked her up from getting her hair done and she announced that she wanted to ride home with the top down on my Jeep. I said, “You just had your hair done” and she said. “I don’t care!” A very proper and well-educated woman, this story always makes me smile. Another thing that impressed me about this brilliant woman was her ability to cope with her cognitive decline. As her memory was beginning to fail, she would cut the date out of the newspaper every day and tape it to her sleeve so she always knew what day it was. Again this was in the early 90’s long before everyone had a cell phone. Sadly she had a stroke and ended her days at Church Home Hospital near Johns Hopkins. At her funeral her son gave me the best compliment I have ever received. “You allowed my Mom to stay in her home much longer than she could have without you!”

Shortly after Mrs. B became an angel, her doctor, Dr. Iglehart called me and said I have another Mrs. B type of client for you. I of course welcomed yet another amazing Masters Educated woman, from the mid-west. Mrs. S lived across the street from Notre Dame of MD University and moved to Maryland for her husband to work at Johns Hopkins as a Political Science Professor. My responsibilities with Mrs. S were similar, I also took her to a family wedding in Maine. This lovely woman shocked me at the airport when she ordered a Spicy Chicken sandwich. My other favorite memory of her was that she had her granddaughter order a book online for my 1 year old daughter. “I feel like I am in the mainstream of life, now that I have ordered something online in 2000.” The idea and experiences from these encounters resonated with me and inspired the creation of Assisting You In Your Home in 2010. Since then, we have been able to provide the same level of high-quality custom care for all of our clients.