In case you haven't been to Florida lately—News Flash—it is warmer there and there are lots of old people. Ok. I don't really qualify as young either, but visiting my mother-in-law this week was a lesson in how those who are in their upper eighties and nineties handle life in this temperate bastion of retirement villages, snow-white hair and pensions.
Jim's mom is 92 and as sweet as apple pie. She uses a walker and has a lot of trouble with steps. So of course, everywhere we went there were steps and long stretches to push the walker. Thing is, whenever we needed another person to help us help her, someone appeared. They might have been 78, or 85, but they would appear at our elbow as if some secret code had alerted them to need in the area, Florida First Responders of the venerable kind.
She hadn't been to a theater in years, so we took her to see Midway, about the U.S. resistance at Midway Island against the Japanese in World War II. For you youngsters, Midway was key in the Japanese plan to dominate the Pacific Ocean from which they would move on to our West Coast. The theater had those big reclining comfy chairs and she loved the recliners and the movie—most of which dealt with people and issues she remembered well. As we pulled her gently to standing position after the movie, a woman of at least 78, came down the many stairs to us. Although Jim and I were managing to get his mom up and out, she insisted on walking along "just in case" and followed us up the stairs. This was a common occurrence.
Leaving a restaurant, Jim had gone to get the car and a woman of 80+ patted her husband's arm and pointed to Jim's mom as I helped her to her feet. We couldn't have gotten down the 10-inch step without his assistance. Little things. Small gestures. Life is made sweet by the effort we make to accommodate, to assist, and to encourage. We thanked these folks each time. But after a few days of this obvious war on helplessness, we became kind of awestruck by the pervasive kindness around us.
There is so much negativity and hate in the world it is sometimes challenging to see the overwhelming power and reach of generosity and love. Like most, I tend to focus on the trees and miss the forest. The forest is real. It is there and we are a part of it.
Blessings,
Nancy
