Grandma Sitter
"This gift has come in very handy especially toward the month’s end — seems like the grocery budget doesn’t last. My health? Has improved, getting younger everyday! HAHA. Thank you again."
— Bette Ann, 71 years old, Antelope
Bette waved us up to her porch where she and a preschool aged child were enjoying the morning.
Each year, hundreds of Rosebud Elders sign up for the Breakfast-in-a-Bag service operated under the Northern Plains Reservation Aid™ (NPRA) Program. The Elders provide basic information about the service and then are asked to provide any comments about the service, including what it means to them. This comment from a Mission Elder stuck out. We were delighted to contact her recently and schedule a meeting.
Meet Bette Ann
Bette Ann lives in town, close to Buche Grocery store. Her modest house is separated from the street by a large front lawn and a bathtub with flowers. Bette waved us up to her porch where she and a preschool aged child were enjoying the morning. “I’m an outdoors girl,” Bette professed!
Bette loves to sit out in her covered porch area and has been in this house since the late 60s. When her mother passed away, she left Bette Ann a little money and instructed her to build a porch so she can enjoy the outdoors and her yard. She has fixed it up little by little. The fruits of her labor, along with help from others, shine through the lattice providing important shade to the cozy corner bench.
Bette Ann has sat on the city council for about three years and will continue to do so “as long as I can help,” she said. She worked at the tribal college as the Plant manager for 23 years, but settled into another profession in 2001. She likes to refer to her new position as “grandma sitter.” She added, “I use the same approach I used with my own kids.”
Bette Ann has five children, 10 grandchildren, and 16 great grandkids!
She must have done something right. All her children attended college and are working either on the Rosebud Reservation or other areas with high populations of Native Americans, such as Rapid City and Santa Fe. She has five children, 10 grandchildren, and 16 great grandkids!
Although they are all out of the house now, she has been watching a young girl whose grandmother works. The child’s grandmother trusts Bette Ann to use the same skill set she would in her own home to care for her.
Bette Ann also offers one of the few respite foster care homes in the area that provides an important break for foster families. She cares for the foster children for a short amount of time — over a weekend, or even just a day. That gives the foster family and child some special time away. She added, “I guess there aren’t too many of us doing this type of work.”
Bette Ann has been part of the Breakfast-in-a-Bag service for almost 10 years. She even recalled the woman who originally encouraged her to get signed up. She picks up her groceries every month. When asked how it helped, she got a little teary-eyed and said, “It’s a Godsend!”
Thank you for helping make this service possible!