A Story in Motion: How One Resident’s Art Became a Community Treasure
Wherever residents from The Watermark at Morrison Ranch go, a story follows them. It’s a story that has come to embody their Gilbert, Arizona, community and the natural beauty that surrounds it. A story about family, friendship, and building lasting bonds. This story is a gift, especially for the resident who authored the story — and whose creativity is now immortalized as images on the community’s bus.
It all starts with resident Sandy Macdonald. Prior to moving in to The Watermark at Morrison Ranch, Sandy was a teacher. She valued the importance of education and reading to her nine children. One year, Sandy’s daughter was required to take a vocabulary class to graduate from high school. To help her memorize each word, Sandy created short stories.
“In order to do well in that class, you had to explain the word well enough to the students that were in the class that they would remember it,” she said.
“I am a reader, so from that, I have a good vocabulary, and I think that’s how children learn vocabulary … the way words are used in a story.”
Sandy’s idea worked. Her daughter graduated with straight A’s, and her success sparked a new idea for Sandy. What if she incorporated her daughter’s vocabulary words into new stories to help children learn and grow their imaginations?
The result is Annemarie’s Pond, Sandy’s first published picture book that she wrote after moving in to The Watermark at Morrison Ranch. She was inspired by the community’s surroundings, one that reflects a more farm-like setting complete with iconic silos rather than the desert landscape typically found in Arizona.
“It’s very calm and very peaceful,” Sandy said of her community. “It is located where we have a body of water and we have trees.”
Sandy was also inspired by something special that she and her neighbors noticed from their community. Every day, a white duck would escort her ducklings to a pond, followed closely by a mallard. Sandy noted that ducks don’t mate for life, but wherever this white duck went, the mallard followed.
“He would follow up behind and kind of nip those little ducklings,” she recalled. “It was just really cute to watch this family.”
Soon, Sandy began writing down what she saw. Every bird that Sandy and her neighbors have seen at the pond is featured in Annemarie’s Pond: everything from pelicans and egrets to Canada Geese. And, of course, the family with the white duck, mallard, and ducklings was included, too.
“I’m a firm believer in family,” Sandy explained. “Families are the solid ground of this earth. They should be teaching principles, and this little mother duck taught her children to walk in a straight line. Well, if we teach our children to walk in a straight line, that’s pretty darn good.”
And as for Annemarie, the titular character? It’s the white duck, named after someone very important to Sandy.
“Annemarie is my neighbor’s name. I went to her, and after much forceful persuasion, she finally let me use her name,” she said with a laugh.
“It was kind of fun to tease her about it because she’s a duck.”
When it came time to publish her story, Sandy knew she had to select an illustrator who could bring it to life on every page. Enter Robyn Brimley, who collaborated with Sandy throughout the entire process.
“Without the illustrator, this story would not be what it is,” Sandy stated. “It’s illustrated like I see it.”
Accompanied by Robyn’s lively illustrations, Annemarie’s Pond was eventually published through Amazon. But the story doesn’t stop there. What followed was something Sandy never imagined. The community approached Sandy and asked if they could use her story and Robyn’s illustrations to wrap the residents’ bus.
Sandy was completely surprised, but without hesitation, both parties said yes. Now, everywhere residents from The Watermark at Morrison Ranch go, the story of Annemarie and Sandy follows them.
“I had no idea that this would go viral, if that’s the right word,” Sandy said of the bus’s illustrations.
“It’s a gift. It is truly an advertisement for where we live. What we see out our windows. What we enjoy.”
Today, Sandy continues to share her passions at Morrison Ranch. In addition to founding a residents’ choir group, she’s involved in uniting residents through weekly religious services as part of her LDS faith. Sandy also makes it a point to meet new residents and pass out signed copies of Annemarie’s Pond to help them feel more at home.
“Sandy is such a blessing and inspiration to what thriving in senior living should look like,” said Community Life Director Rebecca Mitchell. “It is such a joy to see how she has touched so many people’s hearts.”
And as for Sandy’s next story? She’s already written it. This time, it’s about her family’s cabin where her children and grandchildren visit. She credits her faith, appreciation for nature, and love for her family as her biggest motivators to keep writing. After all, it’s what helped make Annemarie’s Pond such a success.
