Senior woman gifted day of adventures at Lady Bird Lake, LBJ Library

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Elizabeth “Liz” Greider loves sailing, nature and history, and frequently talks about those interests. So when the team at Tech Ridge Oaks planned her “Miracle Moment,” incorporating those things was a must.

“I have sailed a lot and I miss it a lot,” Liz said. “Sailing is a skill and I like that, and it’s peaceful, it’s quiet – usually quiet, not always. The sound of the boat going through the water is relaxing to me.”

Liz said she’s had two sailboats in her life, but she’s never been on a paddleboat, so she was excited for the opportunity to go on one Wednesday.

Hayden Pritchett, Activity Director at Tech Ridge Oaks, took Liz out on Lady Bird Lake in a swan paddle boat.

“A couple months ago, I found out that Liz went sailing most of her life, and I saw her whole demeanor change,” Pritchett said. “She just lit up reminiscing about all the times she went sailing and all the different boats she had, and in that moment, I knew she was my next Miracle Moment and that I had to get her out on the water again.”

Pritchett said the assisted living and memory care facility does four “Miracle Moment” events each year.

“I think the best way to describe it is checking things off of our seniors’ bucket lists,” Pritchett said. “So, it’s kind of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, or the experiences they think that since they age, they may never get to do again. We provide the opportunity for them to do that.”

After her boat ride, Liz was taken to lunch and then she got to visit the LBJ Presidential Library. According to Tech Ridge, Liz has expressed interest in returning to the museum and revisiting exhibits related to Lady Bird Johnson.

“We pay attention to what matters to each person,” Dolores Hernandez-Bocanegra, Executive Director at Tech Ridge Oaks said in a press release. “In Liz’s case, that’s presidential history and peaceful water. So, we put the two together.”