Make someone’s day – lighten their load

LORANE — This week, a close relative who is caretaking both her husband and brother—one in the hospital, needing to come home, and one who is in hospice care who she could not leave—was in desperate need of our help.
I offered to pick up her husband from the hospital and bring him home. While I did that, our daughters and son took their riding lawn mowers to their home and mowed their acre of lawn and the sides of their quarter-mile-long driveway that were beginning to get out of hand. The next day, the girls brought their lawnmowers over to our house and did the same. Rob would have been there, too, but he had to be at his job.
I can attest to how much their efforts meant to not only Jim and me, but to our family members, as well. With all of the stress and worry of the pandemic and its possible consequences to our age group, the lightening of our load by getting a jump-start on our yard work was a precious, precious gift. Just looking out over our freshly mown lawns has given us a huge lift. Thank you, Gloria, Rob, Michele… and perhaps, most of all, Kelly, who read me the “riot act” from Arizona… for caring, and being there for our family.
For those of you who have put yourselves in self-imposed isolation and are looking for something to do that will uplift your day as well as someone else’s, pick up a meal at the Lorane Deli for your neighbor who can’t do it himself; or take your lawnmower over to another neighbor’s house and brighten her day… and then, reward yourself by binge-watching your favorite show, if you want.
We can all get through this together if we remain caring and respect the limitations that have been put on us in this “new reality” that we are living right now.
Stay safe and caring everyone!