Gwendolyn Eve, a Woodland resident, can’t wait to receive her meal from one of the Meals on Wheels (MOW) volunteers around 11 a.m. most days of the week. For Gwen, it is very comforting to be able to rely on having a good-tasting, nutritious meal and some social interaction during the week. “They are very friendly and kind, and it feels good to have someone check in and say ‘hi’ for a few minutes.”

Gwen first learned about Meals on Wheels about 10 years ago when she twisted her ankle during a trip to Washington, D.C. When she returned home to Woodland, her doctor recommended that she contact the Elderly Nutrition Program of Yolo County so that she could participate in the MOW program during her recovery. She recently started using Meals on Wheels again about eight months ago when her doctor permanently restricted her from driving.

“I’ve been a widow for 35 years, so it’s very difficult to adjust from being very independent to being told by your doctor one day that your driving days are over,” sighs Gwen. But self-reliance has not been a stranger to Gwen for most of her life. She had to be self-sufficient as a young child and later on in her life as a mother in some unexpected ways. She and her sister were abandoned by their father and, subsequently, raised by their grandparents in Indiana. “I was very determined to make something of my life,” declared Gwen. The inspiration Gwen received from her high school home economics teacher led her to enroll and participate in an innovative home economics program at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Gwen married her college sweetheart during her senior year; however, she was unwavering in her decision to complete her college degree. Consequently, after she and her husband moved to Marysville, Gwen finished her degree at Chico State University while her husband completed his assignment with the 13^th Armored Division at Camp Beale.

Then several years later after successfully raising two daughters with her husband, Gwen’s life changed dramatically when he died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 55. Gwen immediately stopped her graduate work in nutrition at UC Davis to meet the financial needs of her family. Gwen recalls, “Everything just kind of caved in. It was a struggle because I still had to get my youngest daughter, aged 15, through high school and college. All of a sudden I had one little paycheck coming in to keep us going.” So in addition to teaching elementary school, she taught adult education three nights a week.

Gwen is not sure now how she got through those difficult times in her life. “You don’t focus on how you made it or why things happen the way they do. But you do your best and hope things will work out,” she replied. She applies the same philosophy to her current challenging circumstances. Gwen reports that her three children and their families live too far from Woodland to provide daily meals for her. However, Gwen sees her family from time to time, and one of her daughters is able to stop by every couple of weeks. “I miss my independence very much and wish that my health was better. But at the same time, I am so thankful, and I know my children are, too, that the MOW program has made my daily living so much easier!”