Regena Senay, a widow for 25 years now, searched for a “place” in the world for seven years after her husband’s death.
And when she found Morningside Elementary that place saved her sanity.
For Regena, everything has its place.
She lives in a modest, orderly home — four rooms with faux flowers that require no maintenance and minimal amounts of furniture. One room still holds the belongings of her three children. Drawings done by grandchildren adorn the walls.
Morningside’s importance to her doesn’t always show. But don’t be fooled.
Her desk sits closest to the door to the classroom. During activities, she makes a point to help the kids with special needs. At her desk, she manages small but important tasks such as shoe tying, correcting math or organizing daily reports. She helps more than she teaches, but when the opportunity to teach presents itself, she takes it.
A student’s place to her is trying to understand, trying to get the right answer, trying to pay attention and sometimes just trying to sit still. She doesn’t seek those expectations with warmth, but they always are met with respect. She might come off as strict at times, but there’s no mistaking her desire for the children to succeed. She finds happiness in helping the children in Melissa Gregory’s class.
“I wouldn’t have anything to do if it weren’t for the school,” Regena said.
After school, she sits on her couch and usually nods off early. It’s soup for dinner, and she skims through pre-recorded VCR-tapes of soaps before bedtime.
The simple routine and her simple dwelling don’t diminish her love of the place she calls home. Her husband, Joseph, built most of the house himself.
“I love this house,” Regena said. “I say, ‘I’m not leaving until they drag me out.’”
Joseph died from a second heart attack that occurred as he cranked a lawnmower in the front yard. She heard the lawnmower rev but not start, and that drew her outside.
Her next-door neighbor, a 72-year-old man, mows lawns for a living. When he doesn’t have work, he starts a mower and just sits on it to relax, a reminder to Regena of love lost.
But beyond the inherent solitude of living alone, Regena enjoys providing care and lively interaction with her peers, particularly at her church group.
She is happy.
And so, Regena says she’s ready for death. All the preparations have been made. Her gravestone sits 3 feet to the right of her husband’s, where he was buried 25 years ago. All her headstone at the gravesite lacks is what follows “July 6, 1938-.”
“I’m ready to go,” she said about her wait for life in a better place. “It doesn’t bother me, because it gives me a peace of mind.”
