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Tower Views
January 2022
Trixie “Mama” Rhodes’ Story
A s we previously mentioned, Trixie Rhodes had 4 children of her own,
fostered numerous children, became legal guardian of 3, and adopted 3.
Many of her fosters were “special needs kids”, and she cared for a couple
of sibling groups. At one point, there were 16 kids living with Trixie at once in a
home built by Habitat for Humanity. There were 5 bedrooms in the house and a
long dining table donated by Trixie’s church that could seat them all.
When Trixie was only 18 and first on her own, she began fostering Jeff, who was 14 at the time. Jeff was
considered to be “slow”. He stayed with her for 3 years, until he got a job and Trixie was able to have him
placed in a group home. She remembers her time with Jeff as a “good experience”. Because of their closeness in
age, she told him that she was the “boss”, and that he should be “respectful” of his elders. Jeff is now married
with a child and doing well.
Trixie was soon married and gave birth to her own kids: Kim, now 62, Robert, now 55, and Lillie, now 50.
Another child – Kenneth - died from hemophilia at the age of 9. Kim is now an evangelist and lives in
Indianapolis; she has a daughter in her mid-40’s, who is a teacher and a singer. Robert is a forklift driver and
lives in a large house in Blaine; he has 6 children. Lillie lives in Texas and has worked as a collector with a loan
company for 30 years; her son writes and illustrates children’s books. Trixie is close to her kids and grandkids,
and especially close to Robert and his family; she spends holidays and other special times with them. His oldest
son, RJ, is now 37 and has 2 girls, one of whom looks a lot like Trixie.
When Trixie’s daughter, Kim (“Big Kim”), was in her teens, Trixie acquired 2 foster kids - Anita and Teresa -
who were in wheelchairs. Teresa, a “pretty little girl” with cerebral palsy, came to her at age 9; she was quite
disabled and needed a specially made spoon to eat with. Trixie remembers Teresa as a “very independent” girl,
who was determined to crawl up the stairs and to access the bathtub herself.
One sibling group that Trixie fostered included Josh, who came to her at age 19; Rochelle, who came to her at
age 17; and Kimberly (“Little Kim”), who came to her at age 13. These kids came to her as fosters, but Trixie
took guardianship of them when their mother died. Josh had come to her first; Trixie knew him because he had
a band that played where she worked. Josh asked Trixie to take his sisters too, because he was concerned about
their safety and knew that Trixie wouldn’t turn any kids away.
Another sibling group that Trixie eventually adopted included Maurice, who came to her at age 3; Nicole, who
came to her at age 2; and Steven, who came to her at 9 months. Steven was “a cocaine baby”. These kids had
been living in a bus station and were eating garbage when Trixie took them in. Maurice got in trouble when he
was 18, but Trixie was able to get him into the Army in an attempt to straighten him out. He resisted at the time,
but has since told her that it was “the best thing you could have done for me; I’ve accomplished a lot”. Maurice
is now a U.S. Postal worker living in Minnesota and is still in the Army. Nicole is a PCA living in St. Cloud;
she has a boy and a girl. Stevie is a dispatcher for a moving company, also living in St. Cloud; he has 2 boys.
Trixie moved to Minnesota with these 3 in 1981, because she was afraid that their birth mother would try to get
custody of them. At that time, she stopped taking foster kids.
Trixie says, “I’ve had a wonderful life.” She has always been grateful for her large family.
TOWER VIEWS
In this issue: Central Towers
• Trixie’s Story 1 Dining
• Dining Details 2
• Community Events 3
• Pastor’s Message 4
• Word Games 5 Lunch & Dinner
• PHS News 6
Lunch Food Distribution
11:30 am - 1:00 pm (All dates subject to change)
Dinner is available for Salvation Army
pick-up during lunch Food Bag Pick Up
Dining Room Every Wednesday
Lunch = Free You must be signed up
215-4544 by 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Dinner = $5.00
Front Desk
215-4600 You can sign up at the
Front Desk.
Security
651-900-5856
Pantry Bag Pick-up
Food Mobile Will be
Thursday, Jan. 27
Thursday, Jan. 20, 1:00 pm 10:00 am
Friday, Jan. 21, 10:00 am in the
Resident Services
Mission Lobby Office
To honor God * See Brian for
by enriching the lives more information*
and touching the hearts
of older adults.
Page 2 20 East Exchange Street, Saint Paul, MN 55101TOWER VIEWS
Mindful Ways to Welcome Self-Care
in the New Year
Reflect on Your Year
The first step in preparing yourself for a new season of well being is understanding your past. Reflect on
this past year to consider your weaknesses and strengths. When you know your triggers for stress, you can
predict setbacks and change how you react to them. Reflection can help you find direction for your future.
Evaluating your current lifestyle and consider what steps you need to take to proceed toward a better life.
Monitor your behavior and mindset to develop better self-awareness and achieve goals.
Celebrate Improvement
As you take steps to improve your habits and overall lifestyle, you should recognize the improvement and
congratulate yourself. Celebrate your victories, even if they’re small, because your efforts are pushing you
forward. Acknowledging your achievements can give you confidence and strengthen you.
Declutter Your Space
It doesn’t have to be spring for you to remove distracting objects and messiness from your life. New
Year’s is an optimal time to reset your living space. Clear out the belongings you don’t need so you can
create a useful and accessible area for yourself. Cluttered areas hinder your clarity of mind and tire out
your brain. But establishing a fresh environment for a new season can push you to maintain your own
habits and goals. Clearing out things you have been holding onto can remove negativity from your life,
too. You can increase your focus for more success and intentional care in the following year.
Resolve to Make Yourself a Priority — it’s not being selfish!
During the coming year, set yourself up with healthy habits, a fresh setting, an encouraging support group
and self-awareness. This New Year’s reflect and celebrate intentionally. Start out the season by bettering
your health and mindset through giving yourself guilt-free alone time and grace.
Prioritize Sleep — and other healthy habits
Setting up your year with a regulated sleep pattern and quality rest can enhance your life. Sleep
substantially contributes to your emotional wellbeing, brain functioning and physical health. It should be
close to the top of your self-care list because it vastly shifts your mood and performance. If you want to
keep your self-care goals going, you need to incorporate designated rest times.
Other healthy habits that you should prioritize in the New Year include a balance between your personal
life, hygiene, consistent exercise and food choices. To choose self-care, you must establish boundaries.
Remember that you don’t need to justify your choices and priorities to others, but you have to do
what is best for you and your loved ones.
www.centraltowersphs.org Page 3TOWER VIEWS
From the Desk of Pastor Gail...
We Belong to Each Other
B y the time you read this article, 2022 will be upon us. The last two years have been challenging for us
as individuals, as families, as a community, as a country and globally. We have become newly aware
of the connections we have with each other – sometimes helpful and sometimes difficult.
The following verses express how God sees our impact on one another. They remind us that we are
connected to each other – whether we realize it or whether or not we like it. What we do, think or say
impacts those around us, and God calls us to be a force for good in each others’ lives.
“So in Christ we who are many form one body with many members,
and each member belongs to all the others.” ~ Romans 12:5
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one
body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form
one body…and we were all given the one Spirit to drink…If one part suffers,
every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
~ 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 26-27
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” ~ Ecclesiastes 4:12
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest
of these is love.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7,13
Residents, volunteers, and staff at Central Towers contribute gifts, abilities and time so that our community
is stronger. We belong to one another and can do more together than we can by ourselves. I can’t do the
work of the clinical or culinary staff. But together we support each other and contribute to the spiritual,
emotional, and physical wellbeing of staff and residents. I often see residents or staff helping each other
accomplish things that can’t be done alone, providing physical, emotional or spiritual support to those
needing it.
We belong to one another, and we are at our best when we share our gifts and abilities to strengthen our
community. Thank you for the opportunity to share in the work and ministry of Central Towers. It is an
incredible privilege to be here, and you are a blessing to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Blessings,
Pastor Gail
Page 4 20 East Exchange Street, Saint Paul, MN 55101TOWER VIEWS
Funny Quotes from the
Past 100 Years
“Behind every great man is a woman
rolling her eyes.” Jim Carrey
“Adults are always asking children what they
want to be when they grow up because they’re
looking for ideas.” Paula Poundstone
“Hard work never killed anybody, but why
take a chance?” Edgar Bergen
“The secret of staying young is to live honestly,
eat slowly, and lie about your age.” Lucille Ball
“Never eat more than you can lift.” Miss Piggy
“By the time someone says, ‘To make a long story
short,’ it’s too late.” Don Herold
“I’m not offended by blonde jokes because I
know I’m not dumb…and I also know that I’m
not blonde.” Dolly Parton
“When I was a kid my parents moved a lot,
but I always found them.” Rodney Dangerfield
“If you are not yelling at your kids, you are not
spending enough time with them.”
Reese Witherspoon
“By the time you’re 80 years old you’ve learned
everything. You only have to remember it.”
George Burns
Call today for information or a Personal Tour Page 5Central Towers
20 East Exchange Street
Saint Paul, MN 55101
651-215-4600
www.centraltowersphs.org
Presbyterian Homes & Services is a
nonprofit organization and an equal
opportunity employer serving older
adults through community services,
housing, and health care.
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY.
ALL FAITHS WELCOME.
Better Together
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds…” ~Hebrews 10:24
H ow often in these past two years of quarantines
and visitor restrictions have we realized how
much we want to be together? Being together makes
To do this, our team asks for your help. We’re sure
you know of special people, including you, whose
relationships and experiences show how we are better
us happy, but even more important, being together together. These relationships can be among two or
makes us better and helps us thrive. This is the very more employees, residents, volunteers, family
spirit of a community and reflects the love of God. members, friends or any combination of the above.
In Jesus, God summons us into a holy relationship and We want to hear about a new (even unlikely)
invites us into meaningful human relationships. friendship, a common or shared journey, a problem
Through the Holy Spirit, God dwells within and solved or goal achieved together through
between us. In these ties, we can know and be known; collaboration and teamwork. We want to hear about
serve and be served; love and be loved; celebrate and overcoming challenges and finding resilience and
be celebrated. And that’s what we want to do – hope, recognizing God’s hand and blessing, living
celebrate life together at Presbyterian Homes & into a larger view of God, expanding our mission and
Services (PHS) through the many stories that narrate enriching ministry.
how we “spur one another on toward love and good From your and others’ suggestions, we will select and
deeds…” – how we are better together. follow up on stories of being better together.
Throughout 2022, the PHS Communication Team Throughout the series we’ll share the stories that show
wants to tell our stories in a series entitled, “Better and tell how our lives interweave, our gifts multiply,
Together.” We’ll share the stories through the PHS our blessings abound and God is glorified. So much to
blog, videos, social media, and daily staff huddles celebrate and fortunately, we’ll have all year!
known as StandUP. But we need more eyes and ears, E-mail us at communication@preshomes.org or
not to mention hearts and minds. share your suggestion with your campus staff. We
look forward to hearing from you.You can also read
