Paying It Forward

Grandma Dolly is needing much more help lately as she pushes toward another milestone birthday. The Flu took a heavy toll on her but it wasn't as bad a the last time she took a flu shot, which was worse. One of the subjects in my very small homeschool is to help Grandma Dolly each week, sometimes twice. Juby and I help to cut up her pills and place them in her weekly pill container. We often bring in groceries and little treats that she didn't ask for like fresh donuts. Fortunately, she has another resource in another family member who works for her because she is needing more help than I can give with my own family responsibilities. I have recently started to do her laundry regularly taking it home to my house and then delivering it back. I manage her medical visits, medicines and her banking. She is becoming more dependent and my latest duty has been to apply for more help, trying to have someone come in to help her for more hours weekly.

On many occasions I have been extremely grateful to have been raised to be cash register honest. By God's Grace I have everything that I need so that there is no temptation to feel entitled to any of her very meager resources. It is a great privilege to have her trust me. I am awed by that trust and aware of the vulnerable place that she would be in without it. I am sure that there are many seniors who don't have someone to look out for their best interests.

 Dolly and I are related by marriage. This social order puts into place relationships that are designed to help each generation to provide for one another. She often says to me " How am I ever going to repay you?" That's easy, I say! I don't want her money or her stuff. What I do covet are her prayers!!!! This gal is a Prayer Warrior. She prays for me and my family regularly and if someone in the family has a particular need, I ask her to pray for them. To me that is worth over a million dollars and that is selling it short!

The other wonderful thing involved here is that Dolly is a lot of fun. She does appreciate what folks do for her and so the reward is her kind words of thanks. I would probably still help her if she wasn't, because that is the right thing to do but it wouldn't be half as much fun. We are friends. We talk when we visit. I tell her all of the news from our very busy family life. I am quite sure that it brightens her day and gives her something to think about later.She knows all of the players in my life. I cannot imagine living for a day without the sound of another human being's voice ( except for the TV) but that is the experience of many senior citizens, like Dolly.

Lastly, I enjoy helping  Dolly because I am really hoping that my children will want to help me when I can no longer do for myself. I do it for my husband as well. On his deathbed, Larry's father asked him to take care of Dolly. We have done that as best we could, and I am the one who has the time for it. Women are very good at taking care of others because we are hard-wired for it. I am delighted to have the opportunity to do this. It really suits me to manage things and it is a good learning experience to work with Dolly to get her needs met while respecting her freedom and choices.